I would say take certs that are not trade-specific, because as a diploma holder you are over-qualified for tradesmen or roughneck jobs. E.g. trades are like riggers, scaffolders, welders, cutters; each requires different certs.

Instead, take the offshore course that is absolutely essential for working offshore, mainly the BOSIET. A medical report is also needed to go offshore, but w/o knowing who your future employer is, you might want to put a hold on that as some employers have preferred clinics. I'm not sure if your medical report needs to be completed prior to taking the BOSIET.

As Stamp mentioned, as a fresh grad, your grades will be the most important criteria in getting an interview. After that it will depend on how you handle the interview. A petroleum engineering grad is of course in high demand in the ong industry by both client and service companies. BUT, what are your chances of actually working AS a petroleum engineer?

Please be aware that the number of petroleum engineer positions are limited in Malaysia, and will only get scarcer as foreign clients leave and number of students taking PE and no. of universities offering PE increases. You can count with your hand how many clients/operators are in Malaysia; each of them hire no more than a handful of petroleum engineering fresh grads each year to work as petroleum engineers (with the exception of perhaps Petronas). And when spots are limited, they only take the best.
Note: many of these fresh grads were interns previously, so try your best to land an internship with a client.

Of course, if you don't mind not working as a petroleum engineer, and assuming OK grades, you will find a wealth of opportunities in other companies that may only utilize a specific subset of what you studied during your course, such as mudlogger, PVT engineer, MWD engineer etc.

tl;dr Yes you will have greater chances (but compared to what? an accountant? see last paragraph below) to go into ong field with a PE degree. If you want to specifically work AS a petroleum engineer, get excellent grades so clients will want to grab you.

xtra - slippery slope: if you don't feel confident of obtaining excellent grades, my advice is to re-evaluate your interest in petroleum engineering. My personal experience is that a 3.0 mechanical engineering fresh grad will find it easier to find an entry level ong job compared to a 3.0 petroleum engineering fresh grad, just because there are a lot more service companies out there than clients.

This post has been edited by heliosi: Mar 16 2014, 02:07 AM