What is a field engineer?
What is a field engineer as it relates to the oil and gas industry? This is a person who is out on the site of the well or platform and is able to solve engineering problems on site. Sometimes the diagnosis is done on location, other times information is sent via computer to a central office where further diagnostic work and remedies can be applied.
For a person with oil field drilling experience AND who has at least a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering, this is a job which pays very well and provides an opportunity to utilize both experience and training in a rewarding and satisfying career.
What a field engineer does on the job site may vary according to his or her specialty and area of experience. This can include mechanical field engineer, electrical field engineer or even chemical field engineer. Duties might include design execution and analysis of computer based tools to help personnel in the field while working with hydraulic fractioning treatments.
An electrical field engineer would be in charge of running wire line to measure, check and diagnosis the capacity of a new well so that those who make the decisions can determine whether or not to continue the drilling process. Since the drilling crew gets paid by the hour, any down time is lost money, and that may be the major drawback of what a field engineer does. When the drilling crew shuts down to allow for testing, it may be at any time of the day or night, and the field engineer is expected to be there and get their job done so the drillers can get back on the job.
What a field engineer is—depending upon the field of specialty is the person who can handle things at a field location. They are expected to have the knowledge and experience to solve problems which may come up. At a minimum, they must know who can solve the problem if it is beyond their own capability. Oil team people tend to look after their own, and there is always someone who has had more experience, or has seen a solution to what may be a new problem to the field engineer who may have a degree but little else.
What a field engineer is likely to find in terms of salary can be very rewarding indeed. Although the hours can be somewhat sporadic with 12-17 hour days followed by a week off, the pay for most that are a part of this career choice makes the work worthwhile. Depending upon the company and the location of course, the base pay for starting as a field engineer can be $60,000 or more. More is likely in very remote locations or hazardous condition locations. Those with longer service periods can move up to become trainers or administrator of a region.
Most field engineers report that it is the job satisfaction rather than the salary that is the most important thing they like about their work.
For a person with oil field drilling experience AND who has at least a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering, this is a job which pays very well and provides an opportunity to utilize both experience and training in a rewarding and satisfying career.
What a field engineer does on the job site may vary according to his or her specialty and area of experience. This can include mechanical field engineer, electrical field engineer or even chemical field engineer. Duties might include design execution and analysis of computer based tools to help personnel in the field while working with hydraulic fractioning treatments.
An electrical field engineer would be in charge of running wire line to measure, check and diagnosis the capacity of a new well so that those who make the decisions can determine whether or not to continue the drilling process. Since the drilling crew gets paid by the hour, any down time is lost money, and that may be the major drawback of what a field engineer does. When the drilling crew shuts down to allow for testing, it may be at any time of the day or night, and the field engineer is expected to be there and get their job done so the drillers can get back on the job.
What a field engineer is—depending upon the field of specialty is the person who can handle things at a field location. They are expected to have the knowledge and experience to solve problems which may come up. At a minimum, they must know who can solve the problem if it is beyond their own capability. Oil team people tend to look after their own, and there is always someone who has had more experience, or has seen a solution to what may be a new problem to the field engineer who may have a degree but little else.
What a field engineer is likely to find in terms of salary can be very rewarding indeed. Although the hours can be somewhat sporadic with 12-17 hour days followed by a week off, the pay for most that are a part of this career choice makes the work worthwhile. Depending upon the company and the location of course, the base pay for starting as a field engineer can be $60,000 or more. More is likely in very remote locations or hazardous condition locations. Those with longer service periods can move up to become trainers or administrator of a region.
Most field engineers report that it is the job satisfaction rather than the salary that is the most important thing they like about their work.
