Energy

More than 8.1 million people worked in the U.S. energy sector in 2022—up from 7.8 million workers in 2021, according to the United States Energy & Employment Report from the U.S. Department of Energy. The number of clean energy jobs grew by 3.9 percent from 2021 to 2022, outpacing overall U.S. employment growth. About 12.7 million people worked worldwide in the renewable energy sector in 2021, an increase of 700,000 people from the previous year,” according to the United Nations. “Global energy investment is picking up, and the rise in clean energy investment since 2021 is leading the way, outpacing the increase in fossil fuel investment by almost three-to-one, according to World Energy Investment 2023 from the International Energy Agency. “However,” the report goes on to state, “progress has been uneven. Investment in expanding and modernizing grids is lagging behind in many countries. A rising share of solar and wind needs to be accompanied by spending on technologies that provide greater flexibility to power systems. Supply chain and skills bottlenecks could constrain growth. And, above all, the geographical imbalances in investment need addressing.”

Overall, the employment outlook varies by energy sector and career. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides employment predictions for many occupations in the oil and gas industry. Petroleum, mining, and geological engineers, for example, will experience growth of 2 percent (more slowly than the average for all careers) through 2031. The DOL says that “employment growth for mining and geological engineers will depend upon demand for coal, metals, and minerals. These resources are used in many products, from construction materials and cars to cell phones and computers. As companies look for ways to reduce costs, they are expected to contract out more exploration, design, and production activities.” Here are employment outlooks for other types of engineers in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector:

• Chemical engineers: +1.9 percent
• Civil engineers: +7.6 percent
• Electrical engineers: +7.9 percent
• Environmental engineers: +7.9 percent
• Industrial engineers: +8.4 percent
• Materials engineers: +13.7
• Mechanical engineers: +18.6

Employment of geological and hydrological technicians is expected to grow by 4 percent (as fast as the average) through 2031. The DOL says that “demand for natural gas, along with exploration and management of resources such as minerals and water, is expected to increase demand for geological exploration and extraction.”

Demand for biochemists will increase much faster than the average through 2031. Biochemists will continue to play an important role in the development of alternative energy services, especially biofuels, as well as in the developing of more environmentally friendly processes to refine oil.

Job opportunities for power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers are expected to decline significantly through 2031, according to the DOL. Technological advances and greater efficiency (including the automation of some tasks due to the implementation of smart grid technology) have reduced the need for these professionals. “However, some distributors and dispatchers will still be needed to manage the complex electrical grid,” according to the DOL.

Over the long term, opportunities in the oil and natural gas industries may continue to decline if oil and gas prices stay low, which reduces profits for oil and gas companies. Companies will also continue to leverage their employees’ remote work capabilities, as well as increase the use of automated drilling and production processes, in order to reduce costs. These actions will reduce employment in the industry. Public concern about protecting the environment and global climate change and increasing interest in renewable energy may also deter growth in this sector. If renewable energy manufacturing and installation costs continue to drop, and political trends favor green energy through government subsidies and tax credits, the balance between the sectors may further tilt away from oil and gas. In response to the growing popularity of renewable energy, some large oil and gas companies are purchasing renewable energy companies or investing in wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies in order to increase revenue.

Another challenge faced by the oil and natural gas industries is the lack of interest in energy careers by young people. A 2017 survey of members of Generation Z by the professional services firm EY found that 62 percent of respondents viewed a career in these field as “unappealing.” Only 36 percent of respondents believed that the oil and gas industry had a “positive impact on local and global communities.” In addition, a majority of respondents viewed the oil and gas industries as offering primarily blue-collar jobs, despite the fact there are many white-collar jobs and that the number of high-tech careers in these fields are increasingly rapidly. The results of this survey demonstrate that the oil and gas industries need to dispel these stereotypes and educate young people about the many interesting and varied career paths that are open to them.

Prospects for alternative energy jobs vary by sector. Some sectors are experiencing excellent growth. For example, the wind and solar power industries are growing much faster than the hydropower or geothermal industries due to decreasing manufacturing costs, expanding capacity, and falling prices for energy storage devices (especially lithium-ion batteries). Young people appear to be more interested in pursuing careers in green energy than in the fossil fuel industry. Seventy-five percent of respondents to a survey by solar-finance company Mosaic said they would consider pursuing a career in clean energy, specifically citing interest in fields such as solar, electric vehicles, geothermal energy, and sustainable home improvements. More than 5,000 U.S. adults of all ages, genders, geographic locations, income levels, and political affiliations were contacted to obtain the survey results.

Employment for solar photovoltaic installers is expected to grow by 27 percent through 2031—ranking it amongst the 20 fastest-growing careers in the country. Growth is occurring due to the increasing installation of solar panels to homes, businesses, and other buildings, and the growth of solar farms. Demand will also grow for technicians who can service solar panels and systems. The DOL says that “the increasing popularity of solar leasing plans—in which homeowners lease, rather than purchase, systems—should create additional demand, because homeowners no longer bear the upfront costs of installation. Demand may be greatest in states and localities that provide incentives to reduce the cost of PV systems.”

The DOL reports that the career of wind turbine technician is the second fastest-growing occupation in the United States. An employment increase of 44 percent is expected through 2031. The cost of wind power technology has declined in recent years, which, along with the public’s interest in renewable energy, is fueling demand for wind turbine technicians. Employment opportunities vary by state, with the most jobs available in states that are located on the Great Plains, in the Midwest, and along the coasts. Additionally, building the infrastructure that allows wind and solar energy producers to join the national grid is expensive, so taxpayer and government support is critical. Without it, growth may be slow in these sectors.

The strong employment outlook for the wind and solar sectors depends in large part on government incentives (tax rebates, direct subsidies, renewable energy purchase mandates, and net metering), cost, and the continued improvement of solar and wind technology. Without this support from the government opportunities in renewable energy may decline. The American public seems to strongly favor the use of renewable energy. In 2023, 58 percent of Americans surveyed by Gallup supported proposals to dramatically reduce the use of fossil fuels. Eighty percent of those surveyed by Gallup in 2019 believed that more emphasis should be placed on developing domestic energy sources from solar power. Seventy percent of respondents felt the same way about developing wind power. On the other hand, only 28 percent believed that more emphasis should be placed on developing domestic energy from oil.

Employment in the hydropower energy industry should remain good in the next decade. Approximately 200,000 to 300,000 people work in the hydropower industry. Hydropower—sometimes called America’s oldest, but most-forgotten, form of renewable energy—is an abundant alternative energy source. It can also be used to produce electricity inexpensively without harmful emissions, and it is available in every region of the United States.

There will continue to be opportunities in the geothermal energy industry, especially of advances in technology and costs are reduced for geothermal projects. “Technology improvements could reduce costs and increase geothermal electric power deployment,” according to GEO Vision: Harnessing the Heat Beneath Our Feet, from the U.S. Department of Energy. “Improving the tools, technologies, and methodologies used to explore, discover, access, and manage geothermal resources would reduce costs and risks associated with geothermal developments. These reductions could increase geothermal power generation nearly 26-fold from today, representing 60 gigawatts-electric (GWe)3 of always-on, flexible electricity-generation capacity by 2050. This capacity makes up 3.7 percent of total U.S. installed capacity in 2050, and it generates 8.5 percent of all U.S. electricity generation.”

Energy jobs offer a broad range of annual salaries. Engineers typically earn higher salaries ($90,000 to $150,000), with petroleum engineers earning $220,000 or more annually. Chief executives in the oil and gas extraction sector earned average salaries of $305,400 in 2021. Field workers and operators earned lower salaries. For example, wind turbine service technicians earned starting salaries of $45,150 in 2021, according to the DOL. Experienced technicians earned $80,170 or more annually. Solar photovoltaic installers received salaries that ranged from $35,520 to $63,330 or more. Workers in computer occupations in the oil and gas extraction sector earned average salaries of $111,710.

Growing government and industry concerns about cyberattacks on energy facilities, power grids, and industry data have prompted an increasing focus on cybersecurity in the energy industry. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy created the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response to oversee its emergency cybersecurity preparedness and response to disruptions to the energy sector, including physical and cyber-attacks, natural disasters, and human-caused events. “The energy industry is deemed one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors by the U.S. government—and oil, gas, and electric power infrastructure have been targeted for many years,” according to Deloitte’s 2023 Renewable Energy Industry Outlook. “The utilities sector reportedly saw a 46 percent year-over-year increase in cyberattacks in 2021, averaging 736 attacks per week.” And as renewable deployment grows, these new resources are increasingly being targeted. For these and other reasons, demand is increasing for computer security professionals. “Cybersecurity is receiving the maximum attention from power companies in order to protect grids from cyber-attacks,” according to Harminder Singh, power director at data and analytics firm GlobalData, in an interview at Nsenergybusiness.com. “Power utilities realize the crippling effect such attacks can have on the grid, so they are willing to invest heavily to protect against them.” As a result, employment of information security analysts is projected to grow 35 percent from 2021 to 2031, according to the DOL. Employment for those who work in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sectors will increase by 20 percent during this time span.