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The differences between drilling engineers and mud 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 mud engineer. Additionally, a drilling engineer has an average salary of $101,225, which is higher than the $66,175 average annual salary of a mud engineer.
The top three skills for a drilling engineer include cost estimates, well design and data analysis. The most important skills for a mud engineer are rig, drilling fluid, and polymer.
| Drilling Engineer | Mud Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $101,225 | $66,175 |
| Hourly rate | $48.67 | $31.81 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 25,035 | 26,045 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
Drilling engineers and mud engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Drilling Engineer | Mud Engineer | |
| Average salary | $101,225 | $66,175 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $155,000 | Between $45,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Reno, NV | - |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | - |
| Best paying company | Devon Energy | - |
| Best paying industry | Energy | - |
There are a few differences between a drilling engineer and a mud engineer in terms of educational background:
| Drilling Engineer | Mud Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Petroleum Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between drilling engineers' and mud engineers' demographics:
| Drilling Engineer | Mud Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.2% Female, 9.8% | Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1% |
| 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, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |