Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

17-2171 Petroleum Engineers

Devise methods to improve oil and gas well production and determine the need for new or modified tool designs. Oversee drilling and offer technical advice to achieve economical and satisfactory progress.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
11,630	8.3 %	$41.86	$87,070	1.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$22.65	$29.77	$40.34	$52.21	$64.40
Annual Wage (2)	$47,110	$61,920	$83,900	$108,600	$133,960

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Employment rank	Wage rank
Oil and gas extraction	5,390	$46.04	$95,770	1	2
Architectural and engineering services	1,650	$38.45	$79,980	2	8
Support activities for mining	1,030	$34.88	$72,550	3	10
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing	650	$44.34	$92,230	4	4
Management and technical consulting services	390	$48.77	$101,440	5	1

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Employment rank	Wage rank
Management and technical consulting services	390	$48.77	$101,440	5	1
Oil and gas extraction	5,390	$46.04	$95,770	1	2
Scientific research and development services	(6)	$45.68	$95,020	(6)	3
Petroleum and coal products manufacturing	650	$44.34	$92,230	4	4
Other financial investment activities	110	$43.44	$90,360	11	5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of State employment	Wage rank within State
Wyoming	210	$32.13	$66,820	0.087%	25
Oklahoma	900	$43.28	$90,020	0.063%	13
Texas	5,670	$43.60	$90,680	0.062%	21
Louisiana	1,110	$41.26	$85,830	0.060%	18
North Dakota	80	$27.45	$57,100	0.025%	42

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of State employment	Wage rank within State
Florida	40	$74.59	$155,150	0.001%	7
California	1,150	$44.34	$92,230	0.008%	29
Texas	5,670	$43.60	$90,680	0.062%	21
Oklahoma	900	$43.28	$90,020	0.063%	13
Colorado	410	$42.48	$88,350	0.019%	23

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of MSA employment
Odessa-Midland, TX MSA	420	$34.77	$72,320	0.411%
Casper, WY MSA	90	$28.20	$58,660	0.275%
Lafayette, LA MSA	310	$42.25	$87,890	0.189%
Houston, TX PMSA	2,810	$46.08	$95,840	0.137%
Bakersfield, CA MSA	250	$46.29	$96,290	0.112%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA	Employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage	Percent of MSA employment
Oakland, CA PMSA	310	$47.60	$99,010	0.030%
Bakersfield, CA MSA	250	$46.29	$96,290	0.112%
Houston, TX PMSA	2,810	$46.08	$95,840	0.137%
Lake Charles, LA MSA	(6)	$45.72	$95,100	(6)
Orange County, CA PMSA	(6)	$45.49	$94,610	(6)

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.

(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Architecture and Engineering Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004