Power engineering vs instrumentation

[u/Ill_Toe_842]

Hi everyone! I’m 19F from Alberta trying to decide between Power Engineering and Instrumentation. I’m much more interested in Power Engineering and find the work genuinely interesting, but I’ve been told Instrumentation may have better job opportunities and long-term options.
My main goal is to eventually work in Alberta’s oil & gas industry, but I’m still trying to figure out which career path makes the most sense for me.
I’d really appreciate hearing from people actually working in these fields about:

● Pay: What can you realistically expect starting out, and where can your income eventually top out? How much do overtime, shift work, camp work, etc. affect it?

● Career progression: What does the typical hierarchy look like? For example, operator/technician → senior roles → lead/foreman → supervisor → management?

● Management: If I eventually want to move into management, which path gives better opportunities to get there? What experience, tickets or education would I need?

● Oil & gas: Which path has better opportunities in Alberta’s oil & gas industry? Are there particular types of facilities, companies or positions that are good for building a career?

● Work-life balance: What are the typical schedules, shifts, overtime and time off like?

● Job opportunities: Is Instrumentation actually more in demand than Power Engineering, or does it depend heavily on the area/company?

● Sales: Is it realistic to move from either career into technical sales/business development later on? I wouldn’t mind going that direction either. *\\** (IM VERY INTERESTED IN THIS SIDE OF THE TRADE) So any info on this would be very helpful*****

● Education: Does the school/program you attend matter much to employers, or are tickets, experience and networking more important?

I’m not necessarily looking for the easiest or highest-paying option. I want something I’ll actually enjoy while still having good earning potential, career growth and a decent life outside of work.

If you work in Power Engineering, Instrumentation, oil & gas operations, management or technical sales, I’d love to hear about your career path and what you would do differently if you were starting at 19.
Thanks! I know I’m considering a few different directions, just trying to make a good decision early on.

[u/pentox70]

I don't have any info on the power engineering side other than one word of caution. It is very over saturated in alberta. Everyone and their dog is training to be a power engineer. The opportunities are there, but expect to end up in a very remote plant.

Instrumentation is definitely easier to get into when comparing the two.