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The differences between completion engineers and production engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a completion engineer, becoming a production engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a completion engineer has an average salary of $156,228, which is higher than the $89,727 average annual salary of a production engineer.
The top three skills for a completion engineer include rig, AFE and cost estimates. The most important skills for a production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Completion Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $156,228 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $75.11 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 11,512 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 4 |
Completion Engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for designing and monitoring well completions and ensuring the safety of drilling completion operations. These engineers must communicate instructions to the drilling contractors for all operations while emphasizing safety, well control, and LEAN. They are required to conduct meetings on multiple onsite safety and analysis of hazardous materials to improve workplace safety. Completion Engineers must also work closely with the senior management to establish standard operating procedures that follow the industry and government regulations.
A production engineer is responsible for monitoring the production operations, ensuring everyone's adherence to safety protocols, and evaluating the staff's performance, strategizing on maximizing productivity to deliver efficient results that would drive revenues and increase profitability. Production engineers inspect the reliability of production equipment and machinery, conducting preventive maintenance, and repair inconsistencies to prevent production delays. They also identify areas of improvement with the manufacturing processes and escalate best practices for improvement. A production engineer must be knowledgeable about technological advancements and incorporate ideas to minimize costs without sacrificing the quality of services.
Completion engineers and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Completion Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $156,228 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $107,000 And $227,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Devon Energy | Cheniere Energy |
| Best paying industry | Utilities | Technology |
There are a few differences between a completion engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Completion Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Petroleum Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between completion engineers' and production engineers' demographics:
| Completion Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.4% Female, 8.6% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 17.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |