fastest growing segments of engineering 1

[purdue87]

how does one find the fastest growing segments worldwide? does the ENR track this?

oil & gas?
power & water?
etc.....

i am looking to dig up some good useful data. any USEFUL thoughts are welcome
thanks.
scott.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[ScottyUK]

Depends what you mean by 'growing'. Revenue? Recruitment? Salaries? Stock value? Dividends?


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[purdue87]

i would say... recruitment or revenue.

what i am looking for are published studies (that you don't have to pay for)....

Thanks,
Scott

 

[davefitz]

You might want to contant the technical recuruiters, such as Thinkjobs and Monster.com, as they would have the mmost accurate statistics.

In terms of "growing" in the area of training new engineers, a review of the ads for new professors at universities gives a clue as to the areas that universiites think the trend in technology is heading. The research and teaching area which the new professors must be qualified probably reflects their interpretation of where the research funding is growing.

 

[purdue87]

thanks. enr has some stuff for the US but nothing worldwide. probably have to go to barnes reports, etc..

Thanks,
Scott

 

[purdue87]

yep, enr has a decent report...

the environmental engineers have got a pretty good outlook. the structural guys are pretty much tied to the construction / real estate economy.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[EddyC]

ENR magazine only covers constructed products. The other half (manufactured products) it ignores.

 

[sam74]

My guess would be the green aspects or LEED. The government is giving out a lot of money for building new designs utilizing the new energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies. This factors into several disciples. For the company I'm working for a lot of it is Mechanical. I wouldn't expect it to slow down any time soon.

 

[moltenmetal]

I don't need a study to say that what's growing today will often be what wasn't growing 20 years ago- and what probably won't be growing 20 years from now either.

I've seen one buzzword after another turn into a bust. Biotech, hydrogen, the "information society", nanotechnology- not that all of those buzzwords don't represent areas of human endeavor that many people are employed in now and may be in future, but none of them ended up being the unmitigated growth engine that sopped up all the engineers they could find for twenty years and kept wanting more. None of them had a hope of living up to the hype.

Booms don't last. They inevitably end in a bust. You might be able to catch one early enough to profit from it, but just realise that the end will come when nobody expects it.

Build versatile skills across a number of industries, keep sharp, don't get complascent, and avoid being pidgeon-holed, and be willing to move where the work is or choose to live in an urban centre with a widely diversified economy- these are the keys to staying employed as an engineer over the long term.

 

[KENAT]

How about managine off-shored engineering?

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[purdue87]

it was a simple question. what do the data miners see as the fastest growing (worldwide) sectors of engineering. not the "next big thing". just the facts..



Thanks,
Scott

 

[moltenmetal]

My point was simply that "the facts" are VERY difficult to separate from "the hype".

 

[RoyTyrell]

yesterday I was a civil engineer, right now I am doing structural (mainly) work, tommorrow I will be an environmental engineer, or perhaps a windmill engineer, or an offshore platform designer, or whatever other market is paying the most.

get the picture?

don't pigeon-hole yourself, employers don't want single track specialists - and it's a very risky career path to follow.

 

[purdue87]

roytyrell,

you got in this profession for money?..... you got in the wrong profession.
yeah, i get the picture.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[CVLTech]

It's kind of hard to pin down research in a field that is based on innovation; however, our society seems to be moving towards envoronmental friendliness in multiple dimentions.

 

[Electic]

There may be other factors playing than simple popularity. For example, the rumor I hear is that many power company electrical engineers are scheduled to retire during the next 5 years, so even though that field might not be as new and 'exciting' as others, the jobs might be finacially rewarding.

 

[cranky108]

Those of us in the power industry are pigeon-holed, and frankly I like it like that. It has ment that the utility companies have created expert positions, to keep us without having to put us in the position of managing people.
But frankly it is not cut out for any one. You have to love the work.

It has also become necessary to hire part timers/retirees, to fill the positions, as the number of new blood just isen't enough to fill the positions that are opening up.

We tried to hire plain EE's, but with out the power option, they just seem to not take the deepest technical positions (project managers, customer service engineers, and field engineers).

Just checking one consulting company, and they are looking for 15 experenced power engineers.

 

[knight185]

cranky108,

I have been working in power plants since I graduated from college in 2006. In my experience so far I have seen more union personnel retire than the non-union technical guys. Although I have not seen a lot of technical staff members retire yet, losing even a few is a big deal because they have an enormous amount of "tribal knowledge" stored away in their memory. Written records are not very good and the ones that do exist are not managed well, so it can be a struggle for a new engineer to research certain things. The older guys seemed to have grown up in a culture that favored technical knowledge and training. Right now nearly all kinds of training are denied because of budget.

 

[RoyTyrell]

Scott,

I don't think any market is booming right now, but to answer your question - yes, I DID get into this profession for the money. Maybe i should have been a nurse or a pharmacist, but I am what I am and I do OK. I work in the oil and gas industry, I'm not doing this for charity purposes and I get paid accordingly.

To answer your question - anything to do with power *or* water I see growing.

Be flexible and patient and you can make a pretty good living. Where you live and how much you are willing to travel and relocate make a big difference too.

 

[desnov74]

Retirement, With the aging population I see many engineers entiring the retirement market.