Are Engineering Jobs Recovering from the Recession?
According to the United States Department of Labor "2009 Employment and Earnings" and "2010 Employment and Earnings" online reports, the annual decline in the Architecture and Engineering occupations in June of 2009 fall by 52,000 jobs and a year later the occupations have seen a further decrease of 320,000 jobs. In other words there has been a decline of 13.2% in jobs in these professions over the past 2 years. Some states like Nevada these professions have been even harder; roughly 15.7%. Most of the engineering profession job losses have occurred in areas directly related to the construction industry, which has seen a national decline of about 22% over the 2-year time period. In Nevada construction jobs have declined by nearly 50% in same period.How does this affect the engineering job seeker? Well, it all depends on your employment situation.
*Employed and Staying ò€“ Congratulations! You may have survived the worst recession in many decades. Many economists say that we have reached the bottom, and will continue to bounce along the bottom for a while longer, but many industries may not recover for 4 or 5 years. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 39 states already show deficits for fiscal year 2011. For many of these states a portion of the overall solution will be further government job cuts.
*Employed but Job Searching ò€“ If you are planning on finding employment elsewhere, make sure you have a plan. Keep working at your current job as long as you can. The competition for an engineering position is stiff, and everyone is just as qualified if not more as you for those few available positions. You may find yourself working harder job searching then when you were actually making a paycheck. Once you start looking to the time you actually land that new job may take as long as a year or more.
*Recently Unemployed ò€“ If you are newly unemployed times are going to be rough. You are entering a market that is filled with discouraged job seekers; many have been looking for over a year. You do have a small advantage though; you probably have an active network of employed associates. These individuals can assist you finding another job that may or may not be related to engineering. You may have to sit your ego aside and take a job position that does not relate to engineering. If you hold out to long, you will be joining the next group; the long-term unemployed.
*Over a Year Unemployed ò€“ If you have been unemployed for a long time, you may still have a while to go before you will find another engineering position. After a year of seeking employment with no luck it may become very hard to motivate yourself. You may even want to give up, but keep on trying to find something. Unemployment benefits dose not pay all of the bills, and there is a limit to how many months you can receive a government check. Although the US Congress is arguing over how to pay for these payments, you can not count on the government. Eventually, you will have to find employment somewhere even though it may not be engineering. These employers know that as soon as you find another engineering job you will leave without any hesitation. So this rules out convenience stores, store clerk, security guard, and so on.
*Starting a New Business ò€“ If you are thinking about starting a new engineering business, better not be construction related. To start a business you need a market that has a need that is not being filled. There are very little opportunities in the construction industry right now. You may need to acquire training and certification in a new field that is in demand.
The recession is still having an impact on engineering firms. Until they have the necessary workload, they are not going to be ready to hire anyone. If you are looking for work, you are going to have to be creative, possibly accepting employment in an unrelated engineering field.
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