Not enough kids are saying, "I want to be a petroleum engineer when I grow up." In fact, the dwindling number of young adults graduating with a degree in petroleum engineering each year suggests fewer college freshmen decide to go that route every year. In an industry that has enormous production challenges ahead and many leaders ready to head for the golf courses, this is a recipe for disaster. "In 2003, there were 300 bachelor's degrees for petroleum engineering handed out in the whole country," Mukul M. Sharma, professor of petroleum and chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, said at a recent Houston Producers' Forum program. "That same year, 3 5,000 lawyers graduated in the U.S. Nothing against lawyers, but that's a ratio that is quite startling. In our industry, we have growing demand and shrinking manpower." The average age of an employee in the oil and gas industry is 53. Exactly half of the workforce will be eligible to retire in five years. There has been a 60% reduction in staff in the last 20 years, Sharma said. For more on this, see the May issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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