Petroleum engineers design methods of extracting petroleum.
Petroleum engineers design methods of extracting petroleum and gas products from their ores or deposits. Once deposits have been discovered, engineers work together with geologists and other experts to understand the area's geology to determine drill the petroleum products from the ore. Petroleum engineers design the equipment and processes that will generate maximum profitable recovery of the petroleum products.
Average Salaries
Petroleum engineers are among the best paid citizens in the U.S. According to the Occupational Employment Statistics of May 2010, engineers earned an hourly mean salary of $61.53, bringing the annual mean salary to a total of $127,970. The Occupational Employment Statistics shows that only 10 percent of the petroleum engineers earned $30.52 per hour, or $63,480 annually. More than 75 percent of the petroleum engineers made an average of $76.24 per hour and a yearly salary of $158,580.
Highest Paying Jobs
The Occupational Employment Statistics of May 2010 show that among the highest paying jobs for petroleum engineers were those in administrative services and management. Natural science engineers and those working in computer and information system jobs also earned high salaries. The highest salaries averaged above $130,000 annually.
Top Paying States
According to the Occupational Employment Statistics of May 2010, petroleum engineering salaries varied depending on the location or the state where the engineer was employed. For example, the state of North Dakota was the best place for a petroleum engineer to be employed during that year since he could make an average of $99.29 per hour, totaling up to $206,530 annually. Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas and New York states were also in the highest paying states category in that order.
Top Metropolitan Areas
The top metropolitan area for a petroleum engineer to be employed as of May 2010 was Anchorage, Alaska where petroleum engineers made a mean wage of $81.64 per hour and a total of $169,810 annually. Other top metropolitan paying areas included Pittsburgh, Fort Smith and Oklahoma, respectively.
Top Non-Metropolitan Areas
The top non-metropolitan area that paid the highest wages in 2010 was Far Western North Dakota where a petroleum engineer made $107.93 per hour and $224,500 annually. Other non-metropolitan places paying high incomes included Eastern Texas, Northwestern Texas and North Central Texas in that order.
Tags: Employment Statistics, Occupational Employment, Occupational Employment Statistics, Employment Statistics 2010, engineer employed, engineers design, petroleum engineer
