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The route into petroleum engineer

Assembled backwards from the job: the degrees that lead there, the subjects those degrees require, the exams and when they are sat, and what the whole thing costs in years. Print it.

1. Subjects, chosen at fifteen or sixteen

Aggregated across every degree that leads here. Anything marked required closes the door if you skip it.

Saudi curriculum track

مسار علوم الحاسب والهندسة— Computer Science and Engineering · مسار علوم الحاسب والهندسةor مسار الصحة والحياة

A-Level

  • Mathematicsrequiredfor Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Geology, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • Physicsrequiredfor Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Geology, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • Chemistryrequiredfor Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Geology, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • Further Mathematicshelpsfor Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • Geographyhelpsfor Earth Sciences and Geology, Petroleum Engineering
  • Biologyhelpsfor Earth Sciences and Geology
  • Computer Sciencehelpsfor Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Design and Technologyhelpsfor Mechanical Engineering

IB Diploma

  • Physics HLrequiredfor Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Geology, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HLrequiredfor Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • Chemistry HLrequiredfor Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Geology, Petroleum Engineering
  • Geography HLhelpsfor Earth Sciences and Geology
  • Mathematics SL or abovehelpsfor Earth Sciences and Geology
  • Computer Sciencehelpsfor Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Chemistryhelpsfor Mechanical Engineering
  • Design Technologyhelpsfor Mechanical Engineering
  • Geographyhelpsfor Petroleum Engineering

Advanced Placement

  • AP Chemistryhelpsfor Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Geology, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • AP Calculus BChelpsfor Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • AP Physics C: Mechanicshelpsfor Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering
  • AP Physics 1helpsfor Chemical Engineering, Earth Sciences and Geology
  • AP Environmental Sciencehelpsfor Earth Sciences and Geology, Petroleum Engineering
  • AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetismhelpsfor Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
  • AP Calculus ABhelpsfor Earth Sciences and Geology
  • AP Human Geographyhelpsfor Earth Sciences and Geology
  • AP Computer Science Ahelpsfor Electrical and Electronic Engineering

2. The degree

More than one route usually exists. They are not equivalent.

  • Chemical Engineering

    The energy sector's other half; the two disciplines overlap and move between each other.

    Four to five years, with a preparatory year common in the Kingdom and industrial placements widely available.

  • Earth Sciences and Geology

    The adjacent discipline; the two work the same problem from different ends.

    Three to four years, with fieldwork throughout and a mapping project that is often the defining piece of work.

  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

    Instrumentation and control in the energy sector, a large employer here.

    Four to five years, with a preparatory year common in the Kingdom.

  • Mechanical Engineering

    One of the largest employers of mechanical graduates in the Kingdom.

    Four to five years, often including a preparatory or foundation year in the Kingdom and an industrial placement year elsewhere.

  • Petroleum Engineering

    The direct destination, and in the Kingdom a well-defined and well-paid one.

    Four to five years, with a preparatory year common and industrial placement standard.

3. Exams, and when to sit them

Registration deadlines fall weeks or months before the exam. That is what people miss, not the exam.

  • ESATOctober

    Cambridge and Imperial require it for chemical engineering; most universities do not.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.
  • Qudurat and TahsiliGrade 11 and 12

    The Saudi composite; the Tahsili chemistry component is weighted heavily here.

    • Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
    • Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
    • Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.
  • IELTS, TOEFL or STEPBefore enrolment

    Decides whether an English preparatory year is required at the engineering colleges.

    • Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
    • 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
    • Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.
  • ESAT or TMUAOctober

    Required at Cambridge and Imperial; not required by most universities.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.
  • PATOctober

    Oxford's engineering, physics and materials test.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

4. After the degree

Training, licensing and the years between graduating and practising independently.

Saudi Arabia

  1. schoolSecondary school, science track3 yr
  2. foundationPreparatory year at the university1 yr
  3. undergraduateBSc Petroleum Engineering4 yr
  4. trainingGraduate development programme with an operator1–3 yrs
  5. practicePetroleum engineer0 yr

LicensingSaudi Council of Engineers registration. There is no separate practice licence equivalent to the medical or legal ones.

United States

  1. schoolHigh school with mathematics and physics4 yr
  2. undergraduateBSc Petroleum, Chemical or Mechanical Engineering4–5 yrs
  3. trainingGraduate engineer with an operator or service company2–4 yrs
  4. practicePetroleum engineer0 yr

LicensingProfessional Engineer licensure is available and useful for consulting work but is not required for most operator roles.

United Kingdom

  1. schoolA-levels including Mathematics and Physics2 yr
  2. undergraduateMEng Petroleum or Chemical Engineering3–4 yrs
  3. trainingGraduate scheme and progress toward chartership3–5 yrs
  4. practiceChartered engineer0 yr

LicensingChartered Engineer status through a professional institution. Not required to work, but expected for senior technical roles.

5. What the route costs

Not tuition — time. The years spent training are years not spent earning, and that is the largest cost of a long route by a wide margin.

Saudi Arabia

School-leaving to independent practice: 5–8 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is air traffic controller at 4 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 4 years by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of SAR 140,000–220,000, that is roughly SAR 560,000–880,000 of earnings deferred.

United States

School-leaving to independent practice: 4–5 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is aircraft maintenance engineer at 4 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 1 year by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of $48,780–62,630, that is roughly $48,780–62,630 of earnings deferred.

United Kingdom

School-leaving to independent practice: 4 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is management consultant at 3 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 1 year by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of £27,000–35,000, that is roughly £27,000–35,000 of earnings deferred.

How that figure was reached, and what it leaves out

It is arithmetic on the sourced figures elsewhere on this site — training years multiplied by the shortest route’s entry pay — not a measurement of anything. It ignores what trainees earn while training, which in medicine and several other routes is a real salary. It ignores the pay you reach afterwards, which for long routes is usually higher and can overtake the gap entirely. And it excludes tuition, deliberately: Saudi public universities charge nationals no tuition, and fees abroad vary so widely by country and university that any single figure would be misleading. Treat it as a sense of scale for the years, not as a calculation of whether a career is worth it.

Everything on this page is assembled from the career page, the majors that lead to it and the exams those majors require, so it cannot say something they do not. Entry requirements change every year — confirm on the course page for the year you apply.