Born in 1929,[1] Oetit entered the agriculture faculty of the University of Indonesia in 1952 and studied soil sciences.

Upon his return to Indonesia, from 1967 to 1970 was appointed as the chair of the soil sciences department in the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.

[3] He also taught in the department and advised a number of students, including Lutfi Ibrahim Nasoetion, who later became Chief of the National Land Agency.

[4] He was involved in the research of several government projects, such as the tidal rice field clearing project in 1969, which surveyed a number of lands in Indonesia to be utilized as rice field,[5] and land clearing research in 1977 in preparation of the government's transmigration program.

[7] After serving as the chair of the soil sciences department, Oetit was promoted as the dean of IPB's Faculty of Agriculture.