It was just a few months ago when oil companies in the state of Texas were cutting jobs by the thousands. But a recent article from the Ft Worth Star-Telegram reports that the oil industry might be embarking on a rebound. Working in the oil and gas industry is still a viable way to earn a living, especially if you have any of these job titles. In the state of Texas, here are the highest-paying jobs in oil and gas.

Petroleum Engineers – Median Pay of $111,000

As the highest paying oil and gas job, Petroleum Engineer is not a bad gig to have. Petroleum Engineers tend to earn cash bonuses up to $35,000 and even $29,000 from profit sharing. The main tasks of Petroleum Engineers are to oversee drilling and offer technical advice, as well as to devise methods for improving oil and gas well production.

Geoscientists – Median Pay of $89,000

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Geoscientists are a necessity in the oil and gas industry, which is probably why they earn the salary that they do. Their main roles are to study the physical profile of the earth and use that information to help identify and predict oil drilling scenarios. People in this job role tend to spend half their time in the field, with the other half in a research lab or office.

Rotary Drill and Gas Operators – Median Pay of $98,000

Rotary Drill and Gas Operators have big roles to fill in the oil and gas industry. Their main responsibilities are to ensure that when drilling for oil, factors like the drill pressure and speed are correctly calculated and in control. They take notes on the amount of debris taken from the drill, as well as keeping tabs on where they have and haven’t already drilled.

Petroleum Pump Systems Engineer – Median Pay of $78,000

Petroleum Pump Systems Engineers tend to work from the office of oil companies, where they design and oversee all production methods for getting oil and natural gas out of the ground. They also design all the equipment that Rotary Drill and Gas Operators use. In addition, they are in charge of ensuring that the well site is safe for drilling before other team members can begin.

Gas Plant Operators – Median Pay of $72,000

Between Petroleum Pump Systems Engineers and Rotary Drill Operators are Gas Plant Operators. This job is unique in that it’s more hands-on than the other jobs mentioned on this list. Gas Plant Operators manage and oversee all the equipment that processes gas for utility companies. They also operate natural gas plants and pipeline equipment.

Methodology

PayScale created this report based on top-paying titles in a specific region. These lists are filtered by relative commonness to focus on jobs that are not only well-paying, but also unique to the region. This was done to remove obviously high-paying jobs that are found everywhere (e.g. general doctors, lawyers, etc.). Median pay is the national median (50th Percentile) annual total cash compensation.

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