With its strong economy — prompting big spending in construction, oil exploration, mining and many other areas — Alaska is competing on a global scale for engineers of all disciplines, from the relatively well-stocked rolls of civil and mechanical to the meagerly stocked areas of petroleum and corrosion engineers. According to the state Department of Labor, Alaska has about 3,000 engineers, such as civil, electrical, mechanical, petroleum or health and safety, among others.By 2014, about half those positions will need to be replaced due to events such as retirement or leaving the state, and DOL projects that the industry will add more than 800 new jobs during that same time period.
International companies operating in Alaska, like BP and others, have ramped up recruiting efforts only in the last couple of years. As oil prices jumped, it became more economical for exploration in previously questionable fields. Today, the producers have several projects in operation, demanding more engineers to oversee the work.
That will be difficult in itself. But finding professionals for the more specialized areas, such as mining or corrosion engineers, will add to the challenges.
One example is petroleum engineers. Some 238 petroleum engineers worked in the state in 2004, according to the state Labor Department. By 2014, industry will need to add 20 more of the hard to come by professionals, in addition to those who retire.
Engineers bring in good wages. Alaska's civil engineers earn an average salary of nearly $75,000 a year, while petroleum engineers earn nearly $106,000 annually.
Average salary for interns at the Corps of Engineers is $32,000, plus a 24 percent cost of living allowance, which is tax free. After completing the program, new recruits earn $54,000.
Starting salary for a new college graduate at ASRC Energy is $60,000 a year.
These are jobs that pay good money and encourage a range of creativity. So why aren't there more of them?
The main reason: It's hard. It's nearly a 10-year process to get a professional engineering license. Students are subjected to ultra-high-level math and sciences courses in the first two years of a four-year degree.
That's enough to wash out a good portion of the students.
Still, DOT Commissioner von Scheben said that overall it's easier for today's students to get through engineering programs compared to his generation. According to him now students have all the softwares like MatLab and AutoCad which makes the work that much more easier and also students can concentrate more on concepts rather than doing complex calculations. Back in 50's they had to use slide rules.
The big key is how do we get kids to look at engineering as an exciting profession,” he said. “We engineers do exciting projects. We just have to market it better.”
This information has been taken from Alaska Journal
