Private Sector Lifts Grads' Job Outlook (for certain majors)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | 2011-05-21 | Sara Murray & Joe Light

[patton]

Instead of straight math, I suggest Operations Research.

The field is wide open, at the entry level.

It is a cross between Systems Engineering and applied math - optimization of ROI, that sort of thing.

[ruiner]

I think the industry is a good blend of office and field work. I travel to the field to log wells and take cores a few days of every month. I’m still in the office quite a bit but it isn’t sitting behind a desk typing memos - I correlate well logs, map by hand or computer, do a little math, use a lot of creativity. Although I work on things management wants to see, I still have a lot of latitude to do things that I think are important.

Depending on her aptitude and personality she should look at the engineering degrees, geological/geophysical degrees, or even land management degrees.

Engineering in the industry requires the types of skills you would expect. Geology requires a little more creativity and 3D visualization skills but less math. Geophysics is similar to geology but requires very good math skills. Land management is essentially real estate but includes mineral ownership (subsurface rights) in addition to surface rights. These are all generalizations but a good rule of thumb.

There are a few women in geosciences but not a lot. For some reason or another it doesn’t draw many, especially to the petroleum industry as opposed to environmental. I do see more and more women engineers though. In fact, our 2011 intern class is over 50% women. If I were honest, I would say there seems to be a tad bit of bias in the older crowd with women geologists in the industry but that is going away quickly. Sometimes around the wellsite things can get a bit rough around the edges but sexual harassment is not tolerated at all. That being said there’s always some jerkwad guy who says things. A thick skin is required of all of us but they do come down hard when the line is crossed. We realize that different arrangements have to be made and go from there. Where I might just bunk up in any trailer available, we try to find rooms with locking doors for the ladies or they stay offsite. It protects everyone involved, both men and women, from impropriety or the appearance thereof.

I hope this helps. If you are in Texas, Louisiana or Mississippi the state universities have great geoscience programs. You might have her check out the LSU, UT, MS State websites for info and maybe a visit.