Drilling Engineer
Also known as: Assistant Executive Engineer (Drilling) · Rig Engineer
Plans and supervises the drilling of oil and gas wells, from the office and on the rig.
Starting salary: not added yet.
What you’d do
A drilling engineer plans how an oil or gas well will be drilled — depths, casing, drilling fluids, equipment — and then helps supervise the work on the rig. Upstream oil and gas companies, drilling contractors and oilfield service firms hire them. Field days follow the rig's round-the-clock operations; office days go into well planning, cost tracking and reports.
- Prepare well plans and drilling programmes
- Supervise rig operations and drilling fluids
- Monitor well control and safety
- Report daily drilling progress and costs
How you get in
Freshers join upstream PSUs as trainee or assistant engineers, usually through GATE or the company's own exam followed by interviews, or join drilling contractors and service companies through campus hiring. Freshers often start in rig-site roles before moving to planning.
Salary in India
Salary data isn’t added for this role yet. When it is, every figure points to its source.
Skills you’ll use
From our guide · a curated list is coming
- Well planning and casing design basics
- Drilling fluids and hydraulics
- Well control procedures
- Reading daily drilling reports and logs
- Working safely in a rig crew
About this field · for freshers
Job openings by year
Is demand growing?
Not added yet.
Competition2
How many graduates enter each year?
B.Tech / B.E. (all branches) graduates in 2023-24 at institutions that reported to AISHE — everyone finishing that degree, not only those entering this role.
Who hires
IT firms, banks, government, startups?
Not added yet.
Where the jobs are
Which cities?
Not added yet.
Women in the field2
Is it diverse?
Share of women among B.Tech / B.E. (all branches) graduates in 2023-24 — the entry degree, not people already working in this role.
At a glance
- Hiring rises and falls with oil prices and exploration budgets.
- Field rotations mean long stretches away from home, sometimes offshore or abroad.
- Common next roles: senior drilling engineer, drilling superintendent, well engineering lead.
Stay safe
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