Drilling Fluids Continued

To become a Drilling Fluids Specialist you must complete a certification program through an accredited Mud School. 

​

One option for attending Mud School is being hired on through a big mud company or oilfield services company that has their own private Mud School; in that case your education would be free and would be part of your new-hire training.

​

Another option to train and certify is through independent Mud Schools that are usually available for anyone to sign up and apply to. The average costs for attending Mud School ranges between $5,000 to $12,000 and the duration of each program varies between 7 to 12 weeks. Upon hire, junior mud engineers will shadow under a senior engineer until they are able to manage and monitor mud operations on a well site alone.

​

Drilling Fluid Engineers (mud engineers) make between $75,000 to $140,000 per year; offshore drilling sites tend to pay more. Common schedules, or better known as hitches, are usually about  2 weeks on / 2 weeks off as well as 1 month on / 1 month off. 

​

Some companies also offer a 1 week Drilling Fluids overview course to give prospective mud customers and students a look into their company's service.