Career Outlook - Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Gains for Engineers
By Alexandra C. Rivers
Many recent college graduates, including myself, were taught that anything can be achieved with an engineering degree and that with our bachelor’s in hand, we could write our own tickets in life. The last thing on the mind of most 23-year-old employed engineers is the possibility of unemployment. But with the current economic conditions, more and more engineers have been finding themselves without jobs.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate for engineers was 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, a stark contrast to the 1.2 percent figure recorded in 2007. Some engineering disciplines have been hit especially hard as of late. Electrical engineering saw its unemployment rate spike to nearly 9 percent in the second quarter of last year, before easing to 5.2 percent in the fourth.
The tough job market has not been limited to the U.S. Double-E’s in Germany have also seen more than 124,000 jobs downsized since December 2008.
“IEEE-USA is concerned how rapidly engineering and computer-related unemployment is trending upwards,” said IEEE President Gordon Day in April 2009.
In green technologies, engineers are in higher demand, with an increase of 25 percent in job postings since 2008. However, most of the postings require several years of experience, which is usually not applicable to recent college graduates.
Although the information above paints a bleak picture, the Bureau of Labor Statistics believes that the long-term employment outlook for engineers is good and that the profession will continue to grow. The BLS also emphasizes the importance of continuing education. Engineers are most valuable to their employers when they are current on new and upcoming technologies. This fact presents an advantage for younger engineers who have recently been trained on the most current industry systems.
Many knowledgeable observers, such as John DiFrances, author of “10 Compelling Reasons Not to Downsize,” believe the U.S. economy will bounce back stronger than ever. Moreover, the engineering profession continues to grow and provide vital innovation. Engineering students are still justified in believing they can write their own tickets to their desired future, but they should also know that much more is required of college graduates today, due to global competition, among other things. So until the economy stabilizes itself, we should all remain cognizant of market conditions and prepare for whatever may come as a result.