Does a Oil & Gas Engineer Need to go to Uni Or is it an Apprenticeship?
You need to understand the difference between the real meaning of the word “engineer” and “technician.” An Oil and Gas Engineer must have a university degree in engineering and must be registered with a professional engineering organisation. Each country has such organisations. In the UK you eventually become a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers or similar body, in the USA you become a registered Engineer for say the State of Texas. In Canada, Alberta it is APEGA. You are then allowed to produce detail designs for oil and gas installations. To be a technician you do not need a degree from uni. But you cannot become a registered engineer. A technician is quite often on the operational side of the oil and gas industry, such as operating the oil rigs that you mention. Technicians qualify for the work by taking courses and by experience of operating the oil and gas installations, similar to being an apprentice. Oil or gas rig operators are not Oil and Gas Engineers, they are
