STEM Jobs had the opportunity to interview Josmar Celauro, a production engineer at Chevron, to find out what she does and how she uses STEM to be successful.

There are lots of types of engineers out there, and “production engineer” might be one you’ve never heard of before. Basically, a production engineer uses engineering skills to enhance production of a product or resource within the company. Josmar works for Chevron, so she is responsible for enhancing oil production, and much more. Read on to find out how she got started, why she chose the energy industry, and her advice for students interested in energy.

STEM Jobs: What sparked your interest in pursuing a career in energy?

Josmar Celauro: My interested started when I realized that the energy industry is worldwide and you are helping to produce one of the main products people depend on and is used by every country. It makes me happy that I am contributing to society and the gasoline or plastic that you are using might have been from the oil that I helped produce. Having the potential opportunity to live in another country with my job skills is something that really interested me.

SJ: What type of education is needed to be qualified for your position?

Josmar: A bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Chemical, or Petroleum Engineering

SJ: What experiences were the most valuable on your path to your current career?

Josmar: Never to give up no matter how many long hours you spend in the library studying or doing homework. My mom always asked me “What is better: sacrificing your time and struggling through four years of college, or struggling the rest of your life?” My answer was always four years of college sounds like a better option and now that I am done with school I can say that was the best choice.

SJ: What is your current role, and what all does that encompass?

Josmar: I am currently a production engineer. Our main role is to optimize the current production that we have. That includes providing guidance as to what wells need to be cleaned, stimulated, or have equipment modified. Another main role is being a liaison between day-to-day operations, construction, and future projects.

SJ: What STEM skills are required in your job?

Josmar: All of them! You need to understand the science like thermal dynamics in order to predict what will happen with something that you can’t see (remember that the wells can been very deep and are under the ground). Technology is needed in order to collect data and translate all the data into useful predictions. You need to understand the engineering of all the equipment that you have in order to know your well capacity. And math is important because one of the main things we do is probability curves for production predictions.

SJ: What professional accomplishments are you especially proud of?

Josmar: I managed and executed a multi-million dollar project which included a multifunctional team made up of facility engineers, production engineers, geologists, and reservoir engineers with only two years of experience. I had to learn what everyone in the project did, how to accurately forecast cost, production, and schedule, and how to be a leader to everyone in the team.

SJ: What is the most challenging part of your job?

Josmar: The most challenging part of my job is working with different personalities and nationalities. I work with people from every continent (except Antarctica) and everyone has a different work style and ways of communicating. I first have to ask the person what is their preferred way of communicating and executing their work and I try to adapt and consider them when I am delivering my message or request.

SJ: What are some of the different STEM roles available at Chevron?

Josmar: There are lots!
-Production Engineers (optimize current wells)
-Reservoir Engineers (develop plans on how to extract future oil at a subsurface level)
-Facilities Engineers (deal with surface equipment like flowlines)
-Process Engineers (deal with plant processes, pumps, how to separate fluids and process them)
-Technologists (gather data, create programs to manage and simplify data)
-Geologists (study the rock and the earth in order to plan future development of oil)
-Drilling Engineers (help with developing new wells and drill them)

SJ: What do you see as the future of the energy industry?

Josmar: The products that the energy industry creates are essential to our day-to-day living. Due to the current demand of our world population, we will have to be more and more creative in order to meet that demand. We will see new types of energy forms be developed and evolve. I believe that even if the energy industry fluctuates and changes in the future, the oil industry will always be around.

SJ: What advice would you give to students who are interested in a career in the energy industry?

Josmar: This is a fun, challenging, and changing industry. It is an industry that it is always evolving with new technology and different demands. It is up to you to improve it!

If the energy industry sounds exciting, check out our interviews with a lead system engineer and petrophysicist!