Is Gas Engineer’s Salary worth all the hard work? (Guide for becoming one)
By: Mahmuda Afreen / Read more about us.
Among all the engineering jobs in the USA, Gas engineering is one of the toughest as we as the highest paying. A person with maximal experience can earn 133.8% more than the national average of all occupations. Moreover, they will be earning 27% more than the cited average salary for engineers by the government.
Justifying the tireless work they do government is offering proper wages to them. Besides, to become a professional in this area is quite hard. Furthermore, one will find all the details below.
Being one of the highest paying jobs, a Gas Engineer’s Salary will be $145,720 on average per year. Moreover, a person with the utmost skills and acquaintance will get $230000 yearly. New Jersey is the highest paying state as well as city along with New York City offering the amount of around $208000.
Gas Engineer Salary
Among all the highest-paid jobs in the world, engineers of different sectors are one of those criteria that get one of the highest figures of salaries. There is a lot of category in engineering, some are risky, and require high physical and mental work, and some do not have risk and do not require any physical work. Considering different facts, the government of a country sited an estimated minimum range of wage for its employees. As for the Gas engineers (GE), they normally get good payment whether they are working with the government or with the private sector.
One may get confused or one may have a question about the salary of a petroleum engineer if they do not know what the job is. Comparing the salary of this profession with other engineering stages can give them a big question mark. That is why let’s break into the details of the duties of a natural gas engineer before diving into their salary.
By the name of the position, one can guess that this profession involves working with gas specifically natural gas. That is right! The main responsibility of a gas engineer is to design and develop a system and method to extract natural gas. They use their experience, knowledge, and extreme skill to extract the elements from below the earth’s surface. This is one of the riskiest engineering jobs in this human world. So a high salary is needed to provide to justify their unbound hard work.
As we know, the United State Government has strict laws for paying its employees in every sector. They have made several laws to preserve the right of its people for getting proper wages for their work. The responsible body for monitoring the right of workers is the BLS and according to them, the average wage rate for this job is,
| Employment | Hourly | Annually |
| 22,100 | $70.06 | $145,720 |
As of the data, there are 22100 working employees in recent times with an average hourly salary of $70.06 and $145,720 annually. However, the employment number in this sector is highly altered by the price of oil and gas. If the price increases, as well as the demand, the organizations needed to increase their capital to provide for the need, and they, need to increase their employment. Seeing the statistic and the overall scenario of the world, in a decade that number will double no doubt.
Moreover, the income range of the engineers in this field will be different in their experience level and skills level. Many people entering this industry as freshers get the minimum. But once they start gaining experience and growing in this sector the wage rate increases equally. According to percentile, the wage range will be
| Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 90% |
| Hourly Wage | $37.69 | $48.50 | $62.91 | $80.65 | $100 |
| Annual Wage | $78,390 | $100,880 | $130,850 | $167,750 | $208,000 |
After completing the study an entry-level gas engineer can earn an average of $78390 annually which is 10.7% more than the national average. As the 90th percentile means with a maximum of experience, a person will get $208,000 per year.
We can see from the data analysis above which compares to the national average of every other profession including engineers, that natural gas engineers earn much. Specifically, the national mean of engineers is $99040 which is almost 27% less than our cited position. If one is still confused about why they are getting high payments which is one of the maximum paying jobs they can read the duties these engineers have to perform.
Intense Duties of a Gas Engineer
This is one of the jobs that the worker needs to do over time even if they do not want to. Because retrieving petroleum deep down from the earth is one of the hard and risky jobs. A little mistake can cause huge harm to the area including human life.
Specifically, all the reservoirs are located depth of the soil in the rock formation. Only drilling is the way to access those minerals from the land or offshore oil rigs of the sea. All of this work requires extremely hard work in a bad environment with heat, dirt, and whatnot. Sometimes breathing is difficult in those areas. They needed to drill and welling sites and go deep underneath where there is a risk of life. Moreover, the key duties are,
1. They design different equipment to extract oil from different environments like onshore and offshore reserves.
2. Examine and develop plans to drill into the place to go close to the rock oil or gas.
3. Find out the way to force to get more product from the place. That work involves scientific analysis and way. Such as injecting water, chemical, or even steam.
4. Make sure that the oilfield equipment is properly installed and maintained. Also, all the equipment’s working properly.
5. Evaluate the performance of everything. Running a survey, collecting different sorts of data, testing, and analyzing to make sure everything is going according to plan. Also, they are retrieving the proper amount of gas from the mine.
After finding the mine, they work with other scientists like geoscientists and analyzed the formation of the soil and the quarry. After that, they develop a plan, structure, and design tools to do the job. Their job starts from the beginning and they have to be involved with every step of the work till last. Therefore, one can understand that the salary they get is not too much but proper respect for the hard work they do in the field risking their life. Moreover, below is the subdivided wage range for this specific job.
| Area | Annual wage |
| Management of companies and enterprises | $165,480 |
| Oil and gas extraction | $141,570 |
| Petroleum and coal products manufacturing | $128,740 |
| Engineering services | $127,240 |
| Support activities for mining | $123,820 |
How to be a Gas Engineer?
To become a professional in this field, one will have to earn at least a bachelor’s degree in the relevant field. Specifically, they need a degree in either petroleum or natural gas engineering, mechanical, or even chemical engineering. A student wanted to enter this field have to prepare themselves from the beginning of their high school. They will have to take math, physics, and chemistry as their core subject.
Also, in college, they will have to take relevant courses. In their four years of a bachelor’s degree from any certified institution, they will have to pass a lot of time in the laboratory and the field learning and experiencing different circumstances. Moreover, they will need to pass the Fundamental Engineering programs as well as a passing score in the Professional Engineering exam.
After that 4 years of working are required under professional supervision before one gets to be a gas engineer. Along with education and experience, one will need some other skills. Those are,
Math skills
To calculate problems, design equipment, plan drilling, and for so many things great mathematical knowledge is required. Mainly, the engineers will use the difficult calculation of calculus and trigonometry for all those things.
Creativity and Analytical skills
Each mining site will be different and they cannot find patterns most of the time. That is why creativity is a must here to deal with new things properly. Also, they will need to have vast knowledge in technology for gathering different sorts of data to analyze and find out a meaningful statement.
Problem-solving skills
They will be facing a number of problems every single day and every single time. The capability of solving the problem instead with an effective solution is a must.
Interpersonal skills
He or she will be working with a team of tens or even hundreds with heavy and sensitive equipment. So, they will need great communication and leadership skills.
We have gathered all the information on this profession. How they become one and what sorts of work they will be facing every day in their professional life. Overall, we can say that this profession deserves a high range of salary wherever they are working. To know whether they get paid well we will be representing wages of the different sectors for several geographical locations. Let’s start with the highest paying industry in America.
Industries that offer jobs and pay well
| Industry | Employment | Annual average |
| Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | 70 | $230,810 |
| Scientific Research and Development Services | 530 | $192,520 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 4,920 | $171,470 |
| Oil and Gas Extraction | 5,330 | $157,900 |
| Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil | 420 | $150,860 |
As we can see that the USA have many areas that offer job for this position. As for the highest salary, the CIRA offers $230,810 but they have the least number of positions. On the other hand, oil and gas extraction organizations have the maximum number of employment positions with an offering range of $157,900 annual average. After deciding which industry one will choose they can move for searching the best state that offers the highest salary.
Top states of America offer a high salary to their Natural gas engineers
| State | Annual mean wage |
| New Jersey | $208,440 |
| Alaska | $170,080 |
| California | $160,000 |
| Texas | $151,420 |
| Florida | $147,420 |
New Jersey has the highest-paying job option for this profession. Because as EIA stated this state has the US petroleum production pipeline which creates high opportunities and salaries. Those pipelines produce a huge amount of motor gasoline, distillate fuel oil, aviation jet fuel, and petrochemical every day. Moreover, Alaska, California, Texas, and Florida also offer a high range which is more than the national average for this profession.
Which cities are best among the top state for this job?
There are many cities in the US where one can have a gas engineering job but not all the cities are high paying. However, whatever they will be paying will be more than a million in almost every city. Since everyone looks for the best mainly with high experience, we will be exploring cities they can choose for their next job destination.
| Metropolitan area | Employment | Annual mean wage |
| New York, Jersey City | 150 | $214,700 |
| Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura | 280 | $175,590 |
| Anchorage | 250 | $ 169,650 |
| San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward | 370 | $168,210 |
| Austin and Round Rock | 610 | $166,680 |
| Sacramento, Roseville, Arden, and Arcade | 120 | $166,540 |
| Houston, The Woodlands, and Sugar Land | 5,850 | $159,790 |
| Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington | 1,290 | $158,210 |
| Baton Rouge | 70 | $153,160 |
| Tulsa | 560 | $151,390 |
Among all the cities, New Jersey and New York City have the opportunity to get the best benefits as an engineer in the gas field. These two cities have a total of 150 places offering an annual average of $214,700. The maximum number of employment is in the Huston, Woodlands, and Sugar land which is 5,850. Moreover, the wage scale of these cities is also suitable. People with the proper experience can earn $159,790.
On the other hand, the lowest income in the most suitable cities will be in Tulsa a state of Oklahoma. However, the lowest number of employed positions in this job will be in Baton Rouge offering a mean of $153,160 every year.
All the wage ranges for natural gas engineers we have estimated will face a 24% of income tax according to the government. The policy of taxes for this profession is like almost every other occupation. They will have to get an EIN and calculate their income tax according to their annual income. They can also file for a return if their earnings are lower.
In case one is craving to know the circumstances of other countries and wants to compare them with the USA, the data below will help. Since this is one of the most hardworking jobs with high life risk, people will always want to choose the best option. After all those analyses of the USA now it is time to compare it worldwide.
Worldwide salary analysis to find the country of maximal offering
| Countries | Annual 90th percentile | Comparison to USA/ $208,000 |
| Norway | $228,500 | 9.8% |
| Australia | $211,500 | 2.4% |
| New Zealand | $187,000 | -10.6% |
| Canada | $183,000 | -13.4% |
| Netherland | $180,000 | -14.4% |
The wage of every individual related to oil or gas production to supply is directly or indirectly altered by the market price. If the market price goes high they get an increment. Over the time being in USA the as well as in the world it has a rising tendency. For a long time, the gas and oil prices along with GE’s salary never goes down.
Comparing the wage range Norway and Australia are in the heist position before the USA. And this country is holding the 3rd position worldwide. Specifically, these two country offers 9.8% and 2.4% more than America respectively.
According to all the analysis, we can conclude with a statement that Gas Engineering is one of the toughest jobs. Among all the engineering jobs, this one is one of the brainstorming, physical strength required, and life-risking jobs. Importantly, the countries that offer suitable jobs for this profession also provide a favorable salary. Significantly, the countries do not have a huge difference that unjustified their intense work.