With the slowing of the economy in the recent economic downturn, there have been record numbers of job losses in the United States. Chicago is no exception to this problem. However there are still not enough qualified workers in some categories to fill all of the vacancies needed. One of these is Engineers.
There is a high demand for Civil Engineers, Electrical Engineers, and Mechanical Engineers. There are even more specialized subcategories such as Welding Engineers and Traffic Engineers. All of these professions require extensive education. Some can be obtained with a Bachelor of Science degree, and some require a Masters degree. All of them require a general education with a strong emphasis in Science, including Chemistry, Physics, General Science, and especially Mathematics.
Because these are difficult courses, comparatively few students set out to undertake such a daunting course of study. And many of those who do, either fail, or become discouraged along the way. They either change majors, or some even drop out. Those that are left are not enough to fill the demand for jobs. Because of this, especially in cities like Chicago, where there are always numerous construction projects, transportation projects, and manufacturing projects underway, there is a shortage of qualified professional. The simple economic principles of supply and demand dictate that when supply is low, and demand is high, the price goes up. In this case the price is the wage paid to the professional for his or her services. Therefore the wages for qualified engineers in Chicago often exceeds one hundred thousand dollars.
Civil Engineers are used in the design and construction of buildings large and small. If you see the smallest building, even so much as an outhouse, somebody has engineered it for safety as well as structural integrity. All dwellings, even single family homes have to have their architectural design approved by a certified civil engineer before a building permit is issued. Of course the large construction projects such as sky scrapers, bridges, dams, canals and railways, require teams of engineers to approve the design, and ensure they meet code specifications.
Electrical Engineers are needed for all things electrical. They participate in the design and approval of the wiring plans for all buildings. Electricians, a blue collar trade, do the actual installing and wiring, but the design has been approved by an Electrical Engineer. They are also used in the design of electrical appliances, gadgets, and toys. They participate in the forefront of technology, in such areas as developing better performing hybrid and electric cars. In recent years much progress has been made in the development of super capacitors, and batteries that have higher and longer lasting storage capacities that can be recharged more quickly. This has enabled the possibility of completely electric vehicles that will soon be coming to market. All of this is in the field of Electrical Engineering, and combined with Mechanical Engineering.
Mechanical Engineers work in the design, certification, and improvement of efficiency, of all things mechanical. Even with the recent economic down turn, and its devastating affect on the automobile industry, Mechanical Engineers are still in high demand in the automobile manufacturing industry. They are not completely immune from the decline in sales, but many are still needed for the design of new cars, which is needed if they are to ever pull out of the current slump. This is especially true in the development of hybrid and electric vehicles. Mechanical Engineers also help in the design and development of such things as heating and air condition systems for new construction, railway systems, and engines, small engine tools such as lawn mowers and chain saws, and even bicycles and toys. There is an almost limitless list of possibilities.
Welding Engineers are needed to design and certify welds on most things made with metal. Again they are highly in demand most things manufactured, especially automobiles, and construction and farm equipment such as back hoes, and tractors. It is difficult to imagine a world without welding. There are welds in ships and boats, in bicycle and tricycle frames, in airplanes, in the steel superstructures of skyscrapers. Different types of welding such as aluminum welding for boats, compared to the super hot welding of iron rebars joining require different knowledge, skills and abilities. All of these welds have to be designed and approved by a welding engineer. They are required to have extensive training in the understanding of metallurgy, and some chemistry, as well as the physics involved in understanding structural stresses and load factors.
Traffic Engineers are used in the design of streets and railroads. Every driver has experienced the frustration of sitting at a red light, while there is no traffic crossing on the intersecting street, only to see the traffic start to come when the light turn green. Now that traffic has to stop, while you finally get to go, but the next light, a block away, which had been green the whole time you were sitting at the first stop light (but you were not able to go through it and take advantage of its green status, because you were still stuck at that first red light) now turns yellow and red as you approach it. Such is the result of poor traffic engineering, or maybe even a lack there of. In some towns, they may simply decide that a stop light is needed instead of a stop sign, and without sufficient regard to the consequences on the flow of traffic on both streets, install a timed traffic light. Sometimes they install vehicles detection devices that work either with motion detection, or even with sensors under the pavement, that detect the weight of the vehicle. At least these have the advantage of turning green for after you reach the intersection if there is no crossing traffic. But on a road with several intersections, this still will require you to stop and start several times. The subsequent increase in the number of times you have to accelerate and decelerate is far worse than just the nuisance you experience as a driver, having to waste your time, instead of expeditiously getting to where you want to go. The increased use of fuel, and exhaust emissions have a negative effect on the environment as well as on gas prices, and when multiplied by the millions of vehicles on the road, amount a huge difference in the amount of fuel being consumed, verses if there had been a better design in the timing of the lights, to expedite the smooth and orderly flow of traffic. All of this falls in the realm of Traffic Engineering.
These are just some examples of the many possibilities for 100k plus job openings and opportunities available in the city of Chicago.
