Also called: Formation Evaluation Specialist, Well Log Analyst
Reads the signals sent up by tools lowered into a well to figure out what rocks and fluids are down there.
A tool full of sensors is lowered two miles into a new well and sends back squiggly lines of data. You interpret them to tell your team whether a layer holds oil, water or nothing, and your answer decides whether the well gets finished.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's in petroleum engineering, geology or geophysics is common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Petroleum Engineering, Geology, Geophysics.
Growing slowly. Small specialty; also used in geothermal and carbon storage.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Machine learning now interprets well logs automatically, reducing these specialists; tricky formations still need expert review.
Classes: AP Physics, Earth science, AP Statistics, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2042.
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