Dear Deepthi,

Greetings for the Day!

Thanks for approaching Career guide for Career Guidance.

To answer your question. Yes, in short, the job scope associated with this Engineering branch is awesome! 

Let us look into more details about the course. 

WHAT IS PETROLEUM ENGINEERING COURSE ALL ABOUT?:

The course covers details like procedures involved in exploration, extraction and transportation of Crude oil to begin with. Then, it covers details related to refining of this crude oil and producing the primary product- petroleum! Also, along with petroleum, myriads of other products such as plastic granules, gas, tar etc are also produced. The course also deals with these products, their processing, extraction, usage etc.

The Petroleum Industry can be divided into three main sectors-

•  Upstream
• Midstream
• Downstream

Upstream sector focuses mainly on exploration and extraction of crude oil and natural gas. Midstream sector focuses on transportation of these resources. In the end, the Downstream branch is all about refining of petroleum.

Based on these three main sectors, the B.Tech. course can also be divided into two main sectors- Upstream and Downstream courses. A student will have to choose one of the two streams mentioned above (during 5th semester). It is like specializing in one particular stream.

 Job Opportunities After B.Tech. Petroleum Engineering :

The main job opportunity is as an Engineer in a Petroleum refinery. There are number of Private as well as Government refineries. One may apply for the post of an Engineer after graduation. Some big Petroleum Refineries in India are- Reliance Refinery (Jamnagar), Essar (Jamnagar), Cochin Refinery etc. One may also become an Engineer in Government enterprises such as ONGC and OIL!

Crude oil exploration and extraction business sector is also one such field where graduates may find jobs. One may also get work in Consultation business also, which deals with Oil and natural gas as well as Petroleum resources.

Some Chemical Industries (especially Fertilizer and Plastics Industries) also deals with oil and petroleum to a large extent. One may also find job in such Chemical Factories.

Also, to a small extent, pharmaceutical sector also provided job opportunities. This is due to the fact that some medicines make use of Petroleum and its related by products to an extent.

Research and Development is another field that offers jobs to graduates and post graduates. Post graduates stand a better chance at landing a job in this sector. This field has lots of potential because since crude oil is an exhaustible resource, research and development related to it is given more importance!

While it is true that Crude Oil is non-renewable source of Energy and that it will get exhausted one day, that scenario won’t arrive all of a sudden! So, one doesn’t need to worry about lack of jobs in this field in near future!

The job market saturation in case of Petroleum Engineering graduates is relatively very low! Yes, when it comes to other branches like IT, CS, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering etc, the job market is too saturated. Each year, loads of Engineering Graduates pass out from Colleges, crowding the job market. In case of this Engineering Branch, job market saturation should not bother you much. This means there is a better chance of landing a good job when compared to other Engineering streams!

Since Oil and Petroleum resources are being exploited and getting used up, authorities around the world are not only investing in renewable sources of energy. They are also investing heavily towards research and development in the field of Crude Oil extraction, Processing, Technology etc. In short, you may also build a rewarding career in R&D field after Graduation. 

Last, but not the least, chances of working abroad, especially in Gulf Countries is an attractive prospect! A Graduate may initially take up a job in any Indian refinery. India has some huge crude oil refineries like- Reliance, Essar etc.

After gaining work experience in such refineries, landing a good job abroad won’t be a big issue! The main advantage working in Gulf regions is that they take care of their employees very well! In some Oil firms in Gulf regions, employees, despite hailing from foreign countries, are provided with pension after retirement!

The Career growth after your graduation is awesome and, this branch provides enough opportunities to thrive in India as well as abroad! 

GOOD LUCK.