Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between drilling engineers and drilling fluids engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a drilling engineer and a drilling fluids engineer. Additionally, a drilling engineer has an average salary of $101,225, which is higher than the $89,974 average annual salary of a drilling fluids engineer.
The top three skills for a drilling engineer include cost estimates, well design and data analysis. The most important skills for a drilling fluids engineer are drilling fluid, fluid systems, and polymer.
| Drilling Engineer | Drilling Fluids Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $101,225 | $89,974 |
| Hourly rate | $48.67 | $43.26 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 25,035 | 5,121 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A drilling engineer specializes in planning and overseeing a gas and oil company's drilling operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, coordinating with other experts and contractors, examining and evaluating the quality of drilling sites, and liaising with external parties. Furthermore, as a drilling engineer, it is essential to monitor the progress of operations and lead the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and safety regulations to maintain a safe and productive work environment.
Together with a drilling rig engineer, a drilling fluids engineer helps with the pumping of fluids, testing liquids for unwanted particles. They also are involved in mixing fluids needed to drill oil or gas. Another task is providing reports for fluid properties acquired and giving recommendations. They keep a timely record of the performance of each staff member. If staffing is inadequate, they are also tasked to calculate funds for the drilling, allocating budget in both the procedures and miscellaneous expenses.
Drilling engineers and drilling fluids engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Drilling Engineer | Drilling Fluids Engineer | |
| Average salary | $101,225 | $89,974 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $155,000 | Between $52,000 And $154,000 |
| Highest paying City | Reno, NV | Houston, TX |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Devon Energy | Koch Industries |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Energy |
There are a few differences between a drilling engineer and a drilling fluids engineer in terms of educational background:
| Drilling Engineer | Drilling Fluids Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Petroleum Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between drilling engineers' and drilling fluids engineers' demographics:
| Drilling Engineer | Drilling Fluids Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.2% Female, 9.8% | Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 17.2% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |