The Changing Face of Petroleum Engineering
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November 04, 2013
Engineering has long been a field dominated by men, but a growing number of women are seeing this profession as a viable career path.
Enrollment at The University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering averages 23 percent women at the undergraduate level and 20 percent women at the graduate level. An average of 22 percent of the undergraduate engineering degrees awarded are earned by women, up from only 15 percent in 1990.
Two freshman students practice for the high ropes course at the Fall Retreat
While women are gaining steam in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, it’s important to note the disparity is still significant. At the national level, President Obama launched the “Educate to Innovate” initiative in 2008 to enhance students’ math and science skills and overall inspire a more diverse talent pool, including women.
To better understand the drivers for women entering engineering jobs and studies, UT PGE reached out to its female students, faculty and alumni to learn what inspired them to choose petroleum engineering, how they would describe their experience and how they are motivating the next generation of females to think STEM.
Destiny Arteaga, a junior in petroleum engineering at UT PGE, discovered the major during her childhood due to her father’s affiliation with the industry.
“Throughout my education I excelled in both science and math, therefore when it came time to pick a field of study I knew I wanted to choose something that built on these subjects,” said Arteaga. “I grew up in Southeast Texas near a lot of oil refineries, so names like Shell, ExxonMobil, and Total were always familiar to me. My dad worked in these different refineries giving me the opportunity to see the interesting and large-scale aspects of the oil and gas industry.”
While many women are influenced by a family connection to industry, others are persuaded by different factors. Carrie Colbert, a UT PGE alumna (BSPE ’99) and a 2013 Cockrell School Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate, saw petroleum engineering offered something unique to any other engineering degree.
“Growing up, I naturally gravitated toward math and science, so as I was deciding what to study in college, I looked into the engineering field,” said Colbert. “Frankly, what swayed me to petroleum engineering were the great scholarships I was offered. The generosity of industry partners and alumni truly shaped my future path.”
As a female, entering a male dominated field can be intimidating, but for Ngozi Lawanson, a petroleum engineering junior, and Dr. Hilary Olson, a UT PGE lecturer and research associate, the experience has been empowering.
“I feel like a pioneer in shifting what people think of when they hear petroleum engineer,” said Lawanson. “I stand out as a woman, but because I’m a part of a great group of women studying petroleum engineering at UT, I have met so many amazing women in the department and in the industry who make me proud of my gender.”
Olson believes this is the perfect time for women to enter the field as their unique strengths are highly needed—and industry is hiring.
“I think it is an exciting time for women studying the profession of engineering,” said Olson. “Engineers are in demand and women have a great opportunity to help fill the shortage in the engineering professions. There are so many ways women can bring not only their engineering prowess, but a facility for collaboration, communication and creativity to the profession.”
Although it’s a ripe time for women to enter petroleum engineering, the number of women actually selecting the major is still low – less than one-fourth. One way to attract females is ensuring they have strong role models – women who have conquered the degree and are now working in industry or are teaching the subject.
“There's no doubt that women faculty and researchers are important as mentors if we want to grow the number of women students in petroleum engineering,” said Olson.
Olson spends a lot of her time and energy introducing young girls, who likely have not chosen a career path, to the rewarding job options within the STEM fields.
“I have a real passion for middle school girls discovering STEM, and an interest in educating the general public on energy issues,” said Olson. “We have combined those interests into a collaborative program entitled GirlTalk. We bring hands-on activities, engineering and science faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students to local venues for Saturday morning informal programs geared towards middle school girls and their family mentors.”
In addition to academia, the oil and gas industry is making a strong effort to reach out to girls at a young age in order to introduce them to petroleum engineering and the benefit it can have on society. Lawanson, who is the president of the Women in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (WPGE) program housed in the Cockrell School’s Women in Engineering (WEP) program, launched a mentoring initiative last spring with Chevron.
“WPGE worked with Susan Howes (BSPE ’82) and Molly Laegeler of Chevron to create a remote mentoring program for students in petroleum engineering at UT,” said Lawanson. “This program was geared towards younger students, so they would get a chance to meet and learn from industry professionals as well as gain exposure to petroleum engineering.”
The pilot program was successful, so Lawanson hopes to expand the program into two separate semester long programs: one geared toward upperclassmen to create a technical project and one geared toward underclassmen to introduce them to petroleum engineering opportunities.
It’s hard to pinpoint the future for women in engineering, but Colbert hopes more talented women have the opportunity to rise to the top.
“It is an exciting time for women in petroleum engineering,” said Colbert. “As more women enter the field, I hope that we will see more women in leadership positions. Effective leaders know how to think analytically and understand people. And those qualities are not restricted to any particular gender, ethnicity, or age.”
