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Engineering · Petroleum Engineering Rank #5 of 18

Petroleum Engineeringat Texas A & M University-College Station

Graduates earn $69,603/yr in their first year — about 9.0% above the national Petroleum Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $1,138K; scenarios range from $946K to $1,207K depending on AI disruption.

College Station, TX Public Bachelor's Degree
DegreeOutlook Score
71 STRONG
72
Optimistic
69
Pessimistic
Earnings
$69,603
1-year post-graduation
ROI
22.9x
Earnings : in-state tuition
10-yr Base
$1,138K
Cumulative base-case earnings
AI Risk
High
54% task exposure
Program Analysis

What this degree looks like at Texas A&M

Texas A&M's longstanding reputation in petroleum engineering, situated directly within the heart of the U.S. energy sector, is a significant driver of these outcomes. Your degree from a program this well-regarded immediately funnels you into robust recruiting pipelines for major oil & gas companies and service providers based in Houston and beyond. The strong alumni network is incredibly influential, opening doors to highly sought-after roles in reservoir management, drilling optimization, and production. While the industry is rapidly integrating AI for tasks like predictive maintenance and data analysis, which explains the future risk, the human capital demand for complex problem-solving and strategic oversight remains high. To truly future-proof your career, actively pursue coursework or internships in data science, machine learning, and automation alongside your core petroleum engineering studies.

AI Outlook Integration

Three scenarios, ten years out

Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.

Pessimistic
Mass Automation
$946K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score69/100
Earnings Multiple18.1x
Base Case
Moderate Integration
$1,138K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score71/100
Earnings Multiple21.7x
Optimistic
AI Augmentation
$1,207K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score72/100
Earnings Multiple23.0x
Earnings Trajectory

10 year projection

Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to Texas A&M's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.

Career Paths

Where Petroleum Engineering graduates typically work

Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.

1
Architectural and engineering managers
+3.8% 10-yr growth · 14,500 openings/yr
$167,740/yr
Moderate
2
Petroleum engineers
+1.3% 10-yr growth · 1,200 openings/yr
$141,280/yr
High
3
Engineering teachers, postsecondary
+8.1% 10-yr growth · 4,100 openings/yr
$106,120/yr
High
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. AI exposure from OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs and Felten AIOE research.
Compare & Explore

Peer schools offering Petroleum Engineering

How Texas A&M stacks up against other schools offering this major.

Highest earnings
The University of Texas at Austin
TX · Public
74
DW Score
$87K
1-yr earn
25.1x
ROI
Same state (TX)
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
73
DW Score
$80K
1-yr earn
23.5x
ROI
Colorado School of Mines
CO · Public
67
DW Score
$77K
1-yr earn
11.5x
ROI
University of North Dakota
ND · Public
71
DW Score
$74K
1-yr earn
20.9x
ROI
Montana Technological University
MT · Public
72
DW Score
$69K
1-yr earn
35.1x
ROI
Also at Texas A&M

Other top programs at Texas A&M

Other highest-scoring programs offered at Texas A&M, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.

FAQ

Frequently asked about Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M

What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Petroleum Engineering at Texas A & M University-College Station?

This program scores 71/100 — placing it among the stronger programs for Petroleum Engineering nationally. The score reflects above-average earnings, manageable AI risk, and solid financial return.

Will AI replace Petroleum Engineering careers?

With 48% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $945,774 in decade earnings vs $1,206,639 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.