Types of Engineers

Electrical

Do you like electronics?

Electrical and electronics engineers work with some of the most high-tech equipment in the world. They design electronic devices and systems for everything from airplanes to laptops. Electrical engineering involves building and testing electronics systems, wiring, lighting, and more; the production and delivery of electricity; and modern concepts like robotics, nanotechnology (controlling matter at the atomic and molecular level), and microelectrics (very small electrical components).

Environmental

Are you interested in protecting the environment?

Environmental and regulatory specialists may have engineering or geology backgrounds, or they may come from one of the many environmental or science disciplines, including biology, hydrology, and marine science, or they may be lawyers. These personnel are typically part of a project team responsible for assuring that all environmental requirements are met. In some companies, they may be charged with developing innovative ways of managing wastes or emissions that will enhance project economics as well as environmental protections. Regulatory specialists often work closely with government oversight agencies to assure that projects are conducted to the satisfaction of the regulator. As oil and gas resources are developed in areas far from existing infrastructure, environmental specialists may have significant challenges to overcome to remain in compliance with requirements developed for areas where laboratories (for testing) and disposal sites are readily available. They may also have responsibility for working with indigenous communities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In developed areas, they may have responsibility for community outreach programs.

Facilities

Do you like to design?

Facilities engineers design and implement all of the supplemental facilities necessary to the separation, processing, and transportation of oil and natural gas. They work with production engineers on all of the surface processing equipment for a field. They design and build natural gas processing plants to remove impurities from the gas and prepare it for transportation. They design and build pipelines to move oil, gas, and produced water around within a field, to processing or disposal facilities, and to the point of sale. They also work on large interstate transportation pipelines for oil, petroleum products, and natural gas.

Facility engineers also design offshore platforms. These enormous structures are built at shipyards and then must be transported to the field where they will be deployed. Offshore facilities must be designed to withstand heavy seas and hurricanes, protect the hundreds of personnel who may work there, and assure that all drilling and production operations can take place with the utmost safety. The platform design must consider the number of wells that will be needed for the field, the type and volume of hydrocarbons to be processed, transportation of the oil or gas to shore, and possible future reuse or abandonment. Designing an offshore platform is one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges that a facilities engineer can encounter.