A very annoying question about chemical engineering and petroleum engineering?

If I get a degree in Chemical Engineering, can I get a job as a petroleum engineer?

• I just realized that I wanted to do petroleum engineering as opposed to what I previously wanted to, mechanical engineering. However, I've already applied to college. Only one of them offers petroleum engineering as a major, but I don't know if I'll go there. The rest offer only chemical engineering, but can I get a job as a petroleum engineer with that degree?

• Answer:

  It depends on what you want to do as a petroleum engineer. If you want to be a reservoir engineer, better to get the petroleum engineering degree or a geological engineering degree. If you want to become a drilling or production engineer, the mechanical engineering degree is the better substitute. If you want to work at the downstream, refinery end of the business, go home in the evening, and watch your children grow up, the chemical engineering degree will stand you in better stead. All of these degrees will offer you some entry into an engineering career in the petroleum industry, and the majors often cross-pollinate their young engineers into a variety of different roles.