There is an engineering talent gap in the oil industry, but it’s probably not the type of gap you’d expect. Oil companies are expanding at a rapid pace, and many are turning to colleges and universities to fill positions. They are not, however, hiring students or recent grads. Who are they hiring? The professors who train the next generation of engineers.
From Part Time Contractor to Full Time Staff
Oil companies have always looked to academia for talent. Although in the past, professors were often hired as part time workers, contract workers, or independent consultants. This allowed the educators to keep their teaching positions and work with the oil companies over the summer or on the side.
That trend is changing, however. Thanks to rapid expansion, the oil companies require full-time engineering talent, and they need professionals with real-world experience. They are luring professors away from comfortable jobs and tenure-track positions in academia to extremely high-paying jobs in the private sector. The average salary for petroleum engineers is $150,000, with top earners raking in $190,000 per year, which far outshines university faculty salaries, especially among untenured professors.
The Future of Engineering Education and Training
While all of this is good news for engineers, it’s bad news for the future of the industry itself. In response to the oil boom, more students than ever are enrolling in engineering programs. With a shrinking supply of professors to teach them, the future of the industry could hang in the balance. When student-to-faculty ratio increases, it affects the quality of the education those students receive.
Universities simply don’t have the resources to be able to compete with the petroleum industry on salary, so they are left struggling to figure out how to attract and retain professors when the lucrative oil fields are calling. As the industry continues to grow, oil companies will also have to expand their searches beyond the classroom in order to fill their critical engineering positions.
If you are an oil company, or if you are an engineering firm that contracts with oil companies, and you’re looking for new ways to recruit top engineers, Dunhill Staffing can help. Our team of experienced recruiters can get you a leg up on your competition when it comes to connecting with the right candidates for your engineering positions in the Southeast region and beyond. Contact us today to learn more about our proven methods of success.