Personality types
There has been no scientific exploration into exactly what personality types will make a successful petroleum engineer. However, successful engineers are likely to be the the Myers Briggs personality type of INTJ, or otherwise known as ‘the inspector’. INTJ’s are typically responsible, reserved and organized. They have a strong focus on detail and doing things correctly. These skills are key for petroleum engineers, who must notice the most minute issues and fix them correctly.
Accomplishment and mastery
Like most engineering careers, it takes a reasonably long time to become fully qualified and have lots of responsibility and control. Therefore, when a petroleum engineer qualifies fully, they are likely to feel a huge sense of achievement.
Throughout their career, petroleum engineers should be working to improve the way we use and extract oils and gases. Each time a petroleum engineer creates a new way to safely and fairly extract oil, they will feel accomplished.
Meaning and contribution
Many people may criticize petroleum engineers and the part they play in extracting oils and gases. In some ways, their work is not meaningful, as it is harming our planet. However, we need oils and gases to sustain the world as we know it. Therefore, petroleum engineers who work to extract oils and gases in more environmentally friendly ways do have a meaningful job, and they do make a contribution to society.
Life fit
Most petroleum engineers will work normal full time hours. They may have to work overtime to travel to and from drilling sites and to fix problems as they arise. Petroleum engineers may work oversees or at offshore locations for lengths of time – meaning it can provide a difficult life fit for some.
Who will thrive in this career?
There are many qualities that a petroleum engineer needs in order to thrive. For example, petroleum engineers must be mathematically minded in order to thrive. Similarly, they should have good IT skills and be analytical. They should enjoy working with others, be able to communicate well and have strong teamwork skills. However, as engineers may spend some time offshore, which can be isolating, they must be strong, resilient and able to work alone too.
Petroleum engineering can be a physically demanding job. Therefore, those who are likely to thrive are likely to be in good physical shape and have a good level of fitness. They should also have the ability to work under pressure and enthusiasm for the job!
Who will struggle in this career?
Those who are profusely ethically and environmentally minded are likely to struggle in this career as many people feel that the mining of petroleum is damaging to our environment.
As any type of engineer, you will struggle if you are not naturally creative. Similarly, those who are not natural born problem-solvers and don’t pay attention to detail may struggle as an engineer, who needs to be able to notice and solve even the smallest of issues.