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Here’s one oil & gas industry outreach program you should definitely stand behind

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This column could come across as yet another piece of industry “propaganda”, but that’s not my intention.

Sure, the industry does have its shortcomings and those are worth surfacing, but in this particular case one company has rallied itself around a cause I am very passionate about.

The message is so important, and the company pushing that message is so appropriate, that I can’t help but be really, really enthused about this latest outreach effort from one particular and very significant player in the oil & gas industry.

A unique outreach effort

Until the Macondo blowout, it’s probably fair to say that the one company those opposed to exploration and production activities pointed to as shorthand for everything wrong with the entire oil and gas industry was Exxon.

In reality, the Valdez event was a turning point for the company, so much so that for many in the industry ExxonMobil now sets the standard for successful project execution as a result of a rigorous, deeply ingrained top-down culture of discipline and meticulous attention to detail.

That culture can seem quite insular – even to those within the oil & gas industry – so it’s interesting that the company has some of the most ambitious outreach programs in the business.

Indeed, while other companies or trade groups focus on “obvious” causes (allaying fears over fracing, or touting the benefits communities in developing countries gain when they allow oil and gas companies to partner with them), ExxonMobil is focusing now on getting more students interested in engineering.

The campaign, entitled simply “Be An Engineer” is happening through television ads, and active Twitter campaign with the hashtag #beanengineer, and a website, beanengineer.com.

Who cares about the motives?

Personally, I think this is great!

For some, the very fact that ExxonMobil is backing this campaign will cause them to be skeptical.  They will question the motives, saying this is just another case of the “evil” oil and gas industry trying to put a positive spin on itself.

Come on…

There is always an opportunity cost to anything, and given the size of the campaign, ExxonMobil could have undertaken other projects instead of getting students to consider an engineering career.

Heck, the company could have done nothing at all, which is always a valid alternative when faced with a choice.

To all the naysayers out there:  if you don’t like that the message is coming from ExxonMobil, YOU go make the same effort to get more students interested in math and science…

ExxonMobil is in fact the PERFECT company to spearhead a push to train more engineers

What I really appreciate about the campaign is that it comes from a company which undertakes “true” engineering projects, some of the largest in the world, in fact.

Think about it:  yes, many associate “high tech” with Silicon Valley, but ultimately many of these new endeavors are just code.  It might be very smartly written code, but it’s just code.

Or, as Peter Thiel (a co-founder of PayPal…also “just code”!) said:  “We wanted flying cars, instead we go 140 characters“.

That’s unfortunate, because while computer code will undoubtedly play a role in solving today’s really pressing issues, it will take a back seat to physical machinery and devices – think “smart” electrical grids or more efficient cars and airplanes, for instance.

The oilfield is built with that type of cutting-edge machinery, yet that complexity is invisible to many.  High-profile disasters aside, the oil & gas industry has overall done such a good job of engineering its processes, from reservoir to gas pump, that most consumers have absolutely no idea how incredibly complicated these processes are.

From offshore rigs that are basically floating cities to an FLNG project that will lead to the construction of the world’s largest floating offshore facility, the oil & gas industry has undertaken and completed, quite literally, some of the most ambitious engineering projects in all of humanity’s history.

That’s fact, not hyperbole, and ExxonMobil’s expertise in delivering these ambitious projects makes them well-suited and well-informed to speak about and act on the need for future engineering professionals.

This is an all-inclusive campaign

Surprisingly, there’s a debate going on about whether or not there is a shortage of STEM workers.  That’s way beyond the scope of this entry, but I will say that overall, the high salaries engineers enjoy compared to the national average and relative ease with which engineers can switch between jobs show that there is healthy demand for them.

Yet, looking at just a present supply and demand balance neglects the unknown, possible future benefits of getting more people interested in engineering.

Indeed, what if you could inspire one person to explore engineering, and that lead them to create a world changing device down the line?

That’s why I really like the all-inclusive approach ExxonMobil is taking with this campaign.

ExxonMobil probably has no direct benefit, present or future, in encouraging students to become aeronautical or bioengineers, yet the company is highlighting both of those fields on its BeAnEngineer website, and I applaud them for that.  The company could have taken the expected route and just encouraged more students to go into petroleum engineering, yet it is taking the stance that any engineer can make important contributions in any field.

At a young age, students who may be interested in a career in science probably don’t have a good idea of what each branch of engineering entails, so I’m all for programs that help them explore all the various options.  Furthermore, even if someone does finally hone in on one branch of interest, the underlying science behind all of them is the same and having a broad understanding of many of its potential applications can lead to cross-industry collaboration such as this one where oilfield equipment engineers and heart surgeons teamed up to create a new kind of heart pump.

Worries about transitioning from inspiration to degree completion

Showing students cool pictures of rocket ships and drilling rigs is one thing, but translating that to the completion of an engineering degree is quite another.  When you get down to it, engineering at the undergraduate level and beyond is a lot of deciphering ridiculous-looking equations and long hours grinding away at problem sets.

While there’s certainly an enjoyment inherent in figuring these things out, there’s no “fun” way to teach it or work at it:  either you suck it up and realize that in the end it will be worth it, or you get discouraged and the long-term career benefits aren’t enough to get you to push through the short-term challenges.

I should mention here that quality of graduates is way more important than quantity, so I’m against any measure(s) that make it easier to earn an engineering degree.  Getting students ready to put in the appropriate amount of work to reach graduation is a crucial aspect of engineering education that I have not yet seen addressed, in this campaign or others.

For me, the process of earning an engineering degree really started as soon as I entered kindergarten:  I had parents who valued education, and I was put through a French school system where failure is expected and desired (to weed people out quickly…), so I built up a high tolerance for setbacks and the ability to bounce back from them.  Significantly, under my dad’s rules the only acceptable career paths were medicine or engineering (maybe accounting, as that was how he found success).

How do you help students who don’t have that kind of support and preparation succeed?

Final thoughts

That’s a big question for another time, but I will say that the positive outcomes I’ve gained from earning an engineering degree have far, far outweighed the work I’ve had to put in.  I have a skill set that employers of all types seek, I’m part of a profession which I think society does respect and value, and making it through two engineering programs taught me a load of “soft” skills that also contribute to my career success.

Does ExxonMobil have ulterior motives with this campaign?

Who cares.

If the company encourages just one student to complete an engineering degree, and that student has the opportunity to earn the same benefits I have, that’s a great thing.

If they end up working for ExxonMobil, or any other big oil company?

I can think of far worse outcomes for them than a high-paying, challenging job that will take them around the world.

That said, let’s all get behind this effort and encourage kids to go out there and #beanengineer.


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