Jacob Vizinat - Drilling Engineer

I attended Louisiana State University and obtained a Bachelor's of Science in petroleum engineering. I then joined Schlumberger Drilling & Measurements and was placed in their Drilling Engineering program. There, I primarily worked on deepwater projects providing directional drilling and MWD/LWD support to various operators. Then, I joined Chevron's deepwater drilling department as a field-based drilling engineer and have been working on both exploration and development projects since.

I chose to pursue a career as a drilling engineer because of the practical application of the basic principles and concepts you learn in school. On a day-to-day basis, I use equations and concepts that were introduced to me in Drilling 101. In my opinion, drilling engineering is the most hands-on and common-sense engineering out there.

A Bit of Advice

When deciding what engineering discipline to pursue, I found through talking with various people that petroleum engineering was the most practical and hands-on engineering out of all the departments. Having gone through the BS program at LSU, worked several internships and worked in the industry now, I can definitely say that I made the right decision.

The energy industry is a truly global industry. For a person looking to travel internationally and experience different cultures and grow as a global individual, the energy industry -- specifically drilling -- facilitates that goal very well.