Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Changing shape
Petroleum engineers
Devise methods to improve oil and gas extraction and production and determine the need for new or modified tool designs. Oversee drilling and offer technical advice.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 28% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +2.0% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on creative vision and ethical judgement.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $144,910
- Job growth to 2035
- +2.0%
- Openings a year
- 1,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 18,500
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Determine operational methods or procedures
- Develop operational or technical procedures or standards
- Present research or technical information
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures
- Resolve personnel or operational problems
- Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance
What the work looks like
- Specify and supervise well modification and stimulation programs to maximize oil and gas recovery.
- Test machinery and equipment to ensure that it is safe and conforms to performance specifications.
- Monitor production rates, and plan rework processes to improve production.
- Maintain records of drilling and production operations.
- Analyze data to recommend placement of wells and supplementary processes to enhance production.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Environmental engineersGrows with AI, Index 39, +6.3%
- Civil engineersGrows with AI, Index 44, +6.4%
- Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineersGrows with AI, Index 34, +3.8%
- Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectorsGrows with AI, Index 43, +5.4%
Also known as: Drilling Engineer, Engineer, Petroleum Engineer, Reservoir Engineer, Completion Engineer, Operations Engineer, Petroleum Production Engineer, Project Production Engineer.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.