The Absolute Best-Paying Jobs in Energy Right Now
As our climate changes, so will our energy jobs.
The energy industry is one of the most important elements of the modern world--after all, everything from smartphones and laptops to trains, planes, automobiles, and everything in between depends on energy. Matching this diversity of purposes, there is also a wide variety of energy types — not just traditional fuels like oil but also geothermal, wind, solar, and biofuel.
If you’re interested in breaking into this electrifying industry (pun much intended), you’re in luck — there are plenty of opportunities, from research and engineering positions to technical jobs. In this article, we’ll break down five of the best-paying jobs in energy so that you can prepare for your powerful career.
Environmental Engineers
The first job on our list is environmental engineering.
What it is
Environmental engineers, as their name suggests, work on engineering solutions for situations relating to the environment, from mitigating environmental damage to managing pollution issues. When it comes to the energy industry, environmental engineers serve the important role of constructing pieces of energy infrastructure.
Required Education
Typically, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in engineering to be an environmental engineer. In some cases, it may help your prospects to hold a degree in environmental, civil, or chemical engineering. It may further increase your qualifications and income to hold a master’s degree.
Expected Salary
If you enter the field of environmental engineering, you can expect a healthy salary; although each job differs, the median pay in the field is $96,000 per year or $46.55 per hour.
Job Growth
Furthermore, the job prospects for environmental engineering are quite strong. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, environmental engineering is expected to grow by 4% in the next ten years, which matches the average job growth for all professions.
What’s more, increased attention to climate change and alternative energy solutions means that there will be plenty of opportunities for new, innovative projects.
Geoscientists
If you want to pursue a career in the energy field but you are more interested in the purely scientific side of things, you might have it in you to be a geoscientist.
What it is
Geoscientists study the composition and structure of the planet Earth. Such scientists can fuel the energy industry by way of research, but they can also participate in it directly, namely by using their research to help firms explore underwater reservoirs of oil, gas deposits, or environmentally friendly sources like geothermal energy.
Required Education
To become a geoscientist, you’ll usually require a degree in geoscience, geology, or a related field. However, certain companies incentivize or require master’s degrees to hire you for positions. That said, if you are more interested in the research side of geoscience, you may be better served by studying for an advanced degree, like a Ph.D.
Expected Salary
The median annual pay rate for geoscientists is $83,000, while the average rate of $103,000; based on the nature of averages, this difference suggests that some geoscientists can have considerably higher salaries. All in all, it means you’ll be in a great position to grow should you pursue the career.
Job Growth
On top of that, like environmental engineering, geoscience is expected to grow at a healthy rate of 5% over the next ten years.
Conservation Scientists
Conservation scientists help fill out the scientific niche in the energy sector.
What it is
If you become a conservation scientist, you’ll be involved in the work of drawing energy resources from the Earth without damaging it, which is, of course, immensely important for ensuring that energy work is safe and sustainable.
In concrete terms, conservation science entails working with energy firms to plan out their energy extraction efforts. Although these duties can sometimes overlap with geoscience and environmental engineering, the main distinction is that conservation science foregrounds efforts to protect the natural environment.
Required Education
Typically, conservation scientists require a bachelor’s degree in science, forestry, or a related field to practice their job in the industry.
Expected Salary
The average pay in the field is $63,750. However, unlike geoscientists, for whom the mean wage is higher than the median, the mean wage for conservation scientists is $68,230. This suggests that most conservation scientists hold similar wages.
Job Growth
The field is expected to grow by about 5% through the year 2032.
Wind Turbine Technicians
Although the figures on our list so far have been scientific professionals, that doesn’t mean that your only options for entering the industry have to be through research. On the contrary, wind turbine technicians demonstrate that you can enter into the world of energy through technical work.
What it is
Wind turbine technicians’ main responsibilities are to install and maintain wind turbines. Although this description isn’t as lengthy as other items on this list, it might be one of the most technically complicated of all the jobs here.
Turbine technicians engage in the vital, challenging, and stimulating work of maintaining the key components of wind-based power. Given the rise of sustainability in the energy industry, this is more important than ever.
Required Education
Unlike engineers or scientists, wind turbine technicians don’t need to hold undergraduate degrees to enter the field. More often, they need to be certified at trade schools and technical institutes, although this isn’t an absolute requirement. Regardless of pre-existing qualifications, wind turbine technicians tend to receive onsite job training.
Expected Salary
The average pay is $56,000, while the mean wage is $58,580.
Job Growth
Wind turbine maintenance is poised to be an explosive field — it should grow by 44% in the next ten years, almost 9x as high as the average.
Solar Panel Installers
The final career on our list is that of solar panel installation.
What it is
Like wind turbine technicians, this is a more applied career, rooted mostly in the physical engineering task of setting up solar panels.
Required Education
To enter the field, you typically only need a high school diploma and potentially a trade school education, though you will receive onsite training.
Expected Salary
Solar panel installers earn around $50,000, but this can vary significantly by location.
Job Growth
Like wind turbine installation, solar panel installation is supposed to explode in the next ten years, growing around 27%.
As this list demonstrates, the field of energy is poised to grow considerably in the next ten years — and along with it, a variety of high-earning, interesting careers with growth potential.