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The Most In-Demand Sectors of Engineering
Environmental Engineers and Scientists
Natural gas, coal, and crude oil have long held the overwhelming share of our resource consumption, which has created a lot of work for engineers and scientists to identify, extract, and provide environmental oversight of these resources. Even with the modern push to utilize renewable resources, the demand for engineers and scientist in the oil and gas industry has remained high, as these traditional resources still account for about 77% of our energy consumption. That number will likely drop in coming years, but that won’t alleviate the demand for hiring in this field.
The U.S Bureau of Labor projects that there will be a 14% rise in geoscientist employment over ten years, double the national average of 7%, due in large part to the increase in job openings in this sector following retirements and growth of environmental oversight.
Civil Engineering
As populations rise, so too does the demand for infrastructure. With our global population in a state of perpetual growth, we will always have a strong demand for talented civil engineers. Civil engineers are responsible for designing and building the essential infrastructure our society depends upon, such as dams, walls, bridges, tunnels, freeways, levees, etc. They also oversee the maintenance and repair of these essential projects over time, which is why demand for civil engineers will continue to increase in the near future.
Over the past few years, there have been more and more calls for the United States to revamp and repair much of its existing infrastructure. While some of the chatter is political posturing, our infrastructure could use some dramatic improvements. Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineer’s releases a report card grading the current state of American infrastructure, and their most recent review in 2017 featured a lowly grade of a D+.
As public and political pressure mounts for infrastructure to be updated, look for the demand for civil engineers to increase tremendously in the future. As far as talent goes, civil engineers that have experience working with renewable resources or green infrastructure projects will be highly sought after.
Hydraulic Engineering
Depending on where you are in the country, there are unique water-related issues that require the work of talented hydraulic engineers.
On the east coast, a hefty supply of rain has created unusual amounts of flooding, requiring water displacement strategies and new dams. On the west coast, particularly in California, there’s not enough water, creating a rise of projects to clean water, extract groundwater, and to efficiently recycle and reuse water. A problem that all coastal regions share is that rising sea levels are creating infrastructure issues that need addressing. Each of these water-related issues are contributing to a rise in demand for hydraulic and marine engineers.
Smith & Wilkinson Engineering Recruitment
Engineers are always busy, but the sectors of civil engineering, petroleum engineering, and hydraulic engineering are, and will continue to be, especially busy in the coming years.
Looking for engineering talent in one of these fields? Contact Smith and Wilkinson Executive Search today.