Career in Simulations: Pursuing Job in Fluid/Chemical Simulation

[ChaseRLewis]

I've gotten really interested in CFD and DFT recently. I have a BS in Chemical Engineering and will be 25 in about a month. Been working in the oil industry for the last 2 years and before that I worked in a carbon nanotube and graphene 'factory' for lack of a better term that I can come up with doing R&D intern type work.

Working in the oil industry I have a LOT of free time. About 90% of my day is doing nothing at all, which I find unstatifying. To fill that time I've taken the hobby of doing CFD and DFT simulations. My company has shown interest in one of my simulations that and is offering to get me a master's in petroleum engineering which I'm happy to do but the job I'm going into is going to be just a higher paid version of what I'm doing now which isn't very fufilling.

What avenues are best for pursuing a job in fluid simulation or chemical simulation? programming is something that has been self-taught and I have no idea what credentials would be necessary to apply or even where to apply too.

 

[bigfooted]

wait, what?
Your company is offering to pay you for a masters degree, so you will get more money for the same work?
And your problem is..?

Also, I'd expect that they don't pay for your degree and then let you do the same work you do right now. Right now, I assume that doing CFD simulations is not officially part of your work. But this will change once you are a genuine university certified CFD guru with a degree. Depending on the size of the company, it will lead to other opportunities, enabling you to move to other departments where they do more CFD and less 'nothing'. And if you don't have/get this opportunity you can always leave, right now CFD and petroleum engineering is a good combination on the job market.

Programming: everybody I know is self-taught. Concentrate on fortran and c++. Get a classic c++ book like the one from Lippman or Stroustrup. Study the fortran code from the CFD book of Ferziger and Peric. Also try to get experience with openfoam, fluent or some other well-known commercial CFD software, because in most CFD jobs you will be working with these tools.