Matt Mason

After working on offshore drilling rigs in South Asia, West Africa and New Zeland, Matt Mason came to the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business to take the next step in his career in the energy industry.

Mason, an MBA candidate in Bauer’s Global Energy program, knew that UH’s location in the heart of the energy capital of the world would offer a great advantage in his chosen career.

“The faculty at Bauer are largely drawn from the energy industry, and if you are making a career out of any field, it pays to learn from the leaders in the field,” Mason said.

With opportunities to network with energy professionals, visit energy companies, and access major energy industry conferences, Mason said he believes his experiences at UH are teaching him to “think like an energy manager.”

As a second generation “mud engineer” – a drilling fluid engineer who works on drilling rigs – Mason said his life has always been touched by the energy industry.

“It is also the field in which I see the most notable potential for advancement,” he said. “I want to be a part of making the world a cleaner, more efficient user of the plentiful energy resources we have.”

To aid in his career development and that of other students, Mason created the Bauer MBA Society Energy Club, which has sponsored lecture series talks and brought executive-level speakers to campus to speak about energy topics. Next year, the society will host a formal structured program designed to expose member to the various opportunities in the energy chain, from upstream to downstream and including everything from electric and nuclear energy to green fuels.

“As the world strives to be a cleaner, greener place, new forms of energy and distribution networks are going to need to be envisioned and ultimately realized,” he said. “Learning to think like an MBA – that is, a problem solver – is one of the best things that a future leader can do … There is literally a universe of career and entrepreneurship opportunities available to anyone who explores the field and develops interests and competencies.”

With a Global Energy MBA from UH, Mason said he believes he will have the training necessary to realize his dream of becoming an energy leader.

“Possibly the best advantage of all [to UH] is being close enough to interview with many companies, with the added benefit of an easy or altogether unnecessary relocation after being hired!” he said.