What are the highest paying countries for petroleum engineers? If you are planning to start a career as a petroleum engineer, you should decide where you want to work. Maybe this profession isn’t well paid in your country, but there are some countries that will provide you an extremely high salary. An interesting fact is that highest paying countries for petroleum engineers, are also among the highest paying countries for teachers.
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The demand for petroleum engineers have been growing by double digits annually in recent years and we have seen an estimate that predict a 17% growth rate through 2020. We aren’t that optimistic due to the recent decline in oil prices. However, there is no doubt that petroleum engineers have a very high job security, due to the fact that the oil is still among the most needed commodities in the world.
According to a research conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, petroleum engineers earned $108,000 in 2008. Today, their salaries are even higher. The only drawback of the job is that many of them must move overseas and spend a lot of time on offshore platforms.
Despite the fact that oil prices are going up and down, the highest paying countries for petroleum engineers have a high need for this profession. Also, petroleum engineers have a lot of opportunities for career movement in the industry. On the other hand, due to the fact they work where the oil is, the number of areas where they can work is limited. Because of this, a low number of graduates look for a job on the field, despite high salaries. But, this also means that there are a lot of openings across the planet.
In order to come up with the list of highest paying countries for petroleum engineers used two sources. Usually salary estimates are based on surveys which are notoriously biased. When you combine two or more approaches it is more likely that some of these biases cancel out and the resulting estimate is more accurate. For example if you are trying to predict an election’s outcome by using a single poll, your estimates will contain a large margin of error. However, if you combine estimates from multiple polls conducted by different pollsters, the estimates will have smaller margins of error and will usually have higher accuracy.
We have been using this same approach at Insider Monkey to identify the best stocks to invest in the stock market by calculating the consensus picks of 700+ hedge fund managers. Any hedge fund manager may be biased in one direction or the other at any point in time. However, our research had shown that their consensus stock picks actually beat the market by double digits annually in a back testing covering 13 years. At the end of August 2012 we launched an investment newsletter being encouraged by these promising results. Guess how this strategy performed in the 3 years since August 2012? One word: amazing. The strategy returned 102% in the last 3 years versus a gain of 48.8% for the S&P 500 ETF (SPY). You can read the details of this investment strategy here. Our strategy doesn’t beat the market every month but on average it produced much better returns on average. This is generally the case when we use multiple sources to calculate a consensus estimate.
In our article we obtained the salary estimates from two surveys that are available at the Society of Petroleum Engineers and on Hays Oil & Gas Global Salary Guide. The values in the article are averages of salary estimates from these two surveys. Based on our calculations here are the highest paying countries for petroleum engineers:
10. Columbia
A petroleum engineer earns $142.500
Columbia offers a slightly lower salary to petroleum engineers than New Zealand. However, the standard of life isn’t high as in New Zealand. In addition, all foreign petroleum engineers must know the Spanish language.
9. France
A petroleum engineer earns $160.000
France is known as the country of wine and cheese. However, they are very good with oil export. In order to work in this country, you must learn the French language. The country offers a high-quality life standard, so you will enjoy in France. Sadly, you are going to work far away from Paris.
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8. United Kingdom
A petroleum engineer earns $163.000
The starting salary is between $40.000 and $50.000. Petroleum engineers with a Ph.D. and higher education, have higher salaries. It is possible to earn $1.500 per day, as a freelance engineer. Working hours are usually between 9 am and 5 pm, but most firms require extra hours.
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7. Denmark
A petroleum engineer earns $171.000
Recent findings suggest that there is a lot more of oil in the country. This attracts potential investors and has a positive effect on the economy. It is expected that the demand for petroleum engineers will be increased.
6. Netherland
A petroleum engineer earns $180.000
Netherland offers a salary for petroleum engineers that is 82% above the national average. You can apply online for the job. In this case, you will have to do an online quiz. If you pass it, you will be invited to an interview.
5. Canada
A petroleum engineer earns $183.000
Calgary is the Energy Capital of Canada. It is also the place where petroleum engineers have the highest salaries in the North America. More than 2.500 petroleum engineers work in the city. It is expected that the number will be increased in the near future, due to the fact that this is the fastest growing economic region.
4. New Zealand
A petroleum engineer earns $187.000
New Zealand offers great work conditions to its petroleum engineers. This country isn’t well known for oil export. However, their oil economy is growing, and they need more petroleum engineers every year. The country is also well-known for the quality of life and interesting landscapes.
3. The United States of America
A petroleum engineer earns $203.000
The United States offer a great salary for petroleum engineers. However, most of them work in Alaska. The conditions are tough, and many jobs require working on offshore platforms. On the other side, some petroleum engineers work in Texas. The city has more than 5.000 firms that are energy-related.
2. Australia
A petroleum engineer earns $211.500
Australia is well known as one of the best countries for petroleum engineers. However, they appreciate the experience, so the amount of salary depends on the years of experience. Many of the petroleum engineers moves to a higher position in the company after 20 years of work.
1. Norway
A petroleum engineer earns $228.500.
Since the country discovered oil in the North Sea, in the 1960s, Norway became one of the highest paying countries for petroleum engineers. Also, oil and gas export has become the most important part of the country’s economy. This country supplies 1/3 of Europe and 20% of Britain with gas. Thanks to this, Norway is known as ‘’Europe’s Energy Capital’’.
