Energy and Metals are the hottest market spaces in terms of a trader developing a 'marketable' career, no doubt about it. I think you get your foot in the door any way any how; that could be day trading CL with a $25K retail account and developing a track record, or getting into a commercial company on the ground floor as a grunt gopher analyst.
If the shop has an energy concentration or specialty, then yes. Energy, more so than other products IMO, is full of idiosyncracies and local knowledge that can be difficult for an outsider to pick up on once you stray away from the WTI contract.