How to begin a career in the
Energy Field
In Central New York many companies are involved in energy field. This industry has supplied CNY with jobs for years and new technology has the potential to generate exciting, new career opportunities for those with the appropriate education, training and skills. This website explores the careers in the following energy sectors; Fossil Fuel, Nuclear, Hydro, Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Bioenergy, and Fuel Cell. As you select each sector you will view of list of careers and the job description including work environment, salary and education requirements.
The video links above will show you some examples of the opportunities available today to solve problems with careers in the energy field. Click on each of them to view examples of the latest developments and career opportunities.
Introduction to the Energy Field
(From the US Department of Energy Education Project)
Energy is essential to life. Living creatures draw on energy flowing through the environment and convert it to forms they can use. Over millennia, humans have found ways to extend and expand their energy harvest, first by harnessing draft animals and later by inventing machines to tap the power of wind and water. Industrialization was enabled by the widespread and intensive use of fossil fuels. The history of energy use in the United States reflects these general themes. The paragraphs below briefly discuss the major energy sources now in use in the United States:
Petroleum
Until the 1950s the United States produced nearly all the petroleum it needed. Beginning in 1994, the Nation imported more petroleum than it produced.
Natural gas
The United States had large natural-gas reserves and was essentially self sufficient in natural gas until the late 1980s, when consumption began to significantly outpace production. Imports rose to make up the difference, nearly all coming by pipeline from Canada.
Coal
From 1885 through 1951, coal was the leading source of energy produced in the United States. Electricity generation accounted for nearly 92 percent of all coal consumed in the United States in 2000. Over the past several decades, coal production shifted from primarily underground mines to surface mines.
Nuclear
Of all the major forms of energy now in use, only nuclear power has truly modern roots. In 1951 an experimental reactor sponsored by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission generated the first electricity from nuclear power. The success of the demonstration plants and the growing awareness of U.S. dependency on imported crude oil led to a wave of enthusiasm for nuclear electric power that sent orders for reactor units soaring between 1966 and 1974.The number of operable units increased in turn, as ordered units were constructed, tested, licensed for full power operation, and connected to the electricity grid. However, the curve of operable units lagged behind the curve of ordered units somewhat because of the long construction times required for the large, complex plants. The total number of U.S. operable reactor units peaked in 1990 at 112.
Renewable Energy
For all but the most recent fraction of humanity’s time on Earth, virtually all energy was renewable energy. Modern renewable sources (hydro, biomass, geothermal, solar energy and wind) contribute about as much to total energy consumption as does nuclear power.
What of our long-term energy future? Many would argue that the world is destined to move beyond fossil fuels eventually; if the threat of global climate change does not compel it, then exhausted supplies and rising prices might.
The far future seems likely to belong to renewable sources of energy. Although the form they take may be radically different than in the past, humankind’s sources of energy thus will have come full circle.