Petroleum engineering remains a lucrative area for new and experienced engineers. Salaries continue to be on the rise, with a base pay comfortably in the six-figure range. It also has the added benefit of time spent out of the office on field studies and other activities.

Let’s review where current salaries for engineers in the petroleum industry stand in 2013. The salary data is from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

Petroleum Engineer Salaries are High and Growing

According the SPE survey respondents, average salaries for petroleum engineers grew by 6.5 percent in 2013. The mean base pay of $153,620 was actually in between the reported means in the previous two years.

Bonus compensation rose to $64,000 last year, giving a total average take home pay of $203,557 for oil and gas engineers in 2013. These good salary tidings affected most engineers, as nearly 80 percent of the surveyed personnel reported higher pay in 2013 compared to the previous year.

North America is the Place to be for Petroleum Engineers

The United States and Canada sported the highest salaries for petroleum engineers compared to other worldwide locales. Take home pay (including salary and bonus compensation) topped out at nearly $250,000 in both countries, with Canada slightly exceeding the U.S.

The North Sea and North Atlantic region was next, followed by Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. Total pay in both regions neared the $200,000 mark. The Middle East came close to $175,000 in take home pay, but many engineering jobs in that area come with the added benefit of no income tax.

Over 95 percent of the survey respondents were full-time employees on a regular payroll. Nearly 2.5 work as contract, freelance or part-time engineers and around 2 percent are either self-employed or business owners. The respondents work for an array of company types, including the service and manufacturing sector, as well as both commercial and national oil and gas companies.

If the lucrative pay of petroleum engineers is putting visions of dollar signs in your eyes, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. If you are looking for petroleum engineering contracts in Seattle, contact our experienced team today.

Going “green” is becoming an important part of modern office and commercial building management. Cost savings and environmental concerns are the primary drivers for energy saving in the commercial real estate world.

Let’s take a look at five techniques from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) to enhance the energy savings potential of a commercial building. According to BOMA, 20 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. are due to the office buildings industry, so these are important items to look at implementing.

Don’t Skimp on the Energy Audits

Energy audits help to find actionable items to improve the energy efficiency of a building. Be sure to perform them at midnight as an empty building allows for better evaluation of the space’s HVAC and lighting systems.

Use Fluorescent Lighting

Commercial buildings should replace all incandescent lighting with the equivalent compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. This will lead to significant energy savings over time. CFLs emit less heat as well.

Modernize the Rest Rooms

Leveraging low-flow toilets and hands-free sink fixtures uses much less water than older models. The scarcity of water resources is expected to grow in the 21st Century.

Occupancy and Photo Sensors mitigate Energy Waste

When building tenants aren’t using specific rooms, their lighting shouldn’t be on. Occupancy sensors prevent this energy waste by turning off lights in unoccupied areas of a building. Photo sensors work in a similar fashion by decreasing lighting during daylight hours.

Install Bike Racks and Electric Charging Stations

Making the effort to install bike racks and electric charging stations is a great way for a commercial building management company to go green. It promotes alternative transportation methods that waste less energy and carbon when compared to gas-powered vehicles.

Implementing these five simple techniques will go a long way in fostering energy conservation in the office building sector.

If these kinds of green practices inspire you to further a career in engineering, talk to the staffing pros at The Talley Group. Since they are one of the leading engineering staffing companies in the Seattle area, they have the experts on hand to help your career. If you are looking for electrical engineering employment in Washington, contact our team today.

The annual review is a chance for all engineers to take stock of their performance in the previous year; set some goals for the following 12 months, and making some longer-term plans for professional, and potentially educational, growth. Those who simply look at the review as a chance to get a raise aren’t taking full advantage of everything an annual performance review brings to the career development equation.

Let’s take a look at some ways for you (and your career) to make the most out of your annual performance review.

Don’t Prepare for your Review at the Last Minute

Rushing at the last minute to put together some notes for your performance review is not a good idea. Make it a point to keep a project diary throughout the year detailing the challenges you faced, any innovative solutions, and your quantifiable successes. Having this at the ready should make the review a simpler and more effective process.

In short, treat your review materials as a recurring documentation project. Few engineers like to do documentation, but get over any prejudices. Spending the time now will help your career in the long run.

Set Realistic Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Performance review time is perfect for managing short-term and long-term goals. This involves looking at last year’s goals to see if they were met, as well as spending the effort developing a new set of clearly-stated goals for the upcoming 12 months. Yearly goals should reflect tangible accomplishments that provide positive impact to your company’s bottom line.

Take the time to analyze your progress towards longer-term career goals. In fact, the scope for your long-term career hopes may go beyond your current employer. Any time spent on career reflection is worthy.

Ultimately, be positive during the review and thank your manager for the opportunity to help the company grow.

If you need any additional advice on career development in the world of engineering, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As they are one of the leading engineering staffing agencies in the Seattle area, they have the talent to ensure your career stays on the right path. Schedule some time with them today! If you are looking for engineering jobs in Washington, contact us today.

Considering the rise of Big Data over the past few years, it stands to reason that extracting actionable information from that data has also become more relevant. Enter the use of predictive analytics, a growing trend noted for 2014.

While predictive analytics holds importance in many industries, it needs more applications in the world of engineering and construction. While general data analytics attempts to make business sense of the past, its predictive brother analyzes that information looking more to the future.

Leveraging Predictive Analytics in Construction Engineering

Companies — no matter their industry — use predictive analytics to manage risk, improve ROI, and to forecast patterns in customer activity. The retailer Target used the technique to grow sales to certain consumer demographics. This success and others combined to make the Data Scientist — someone able to find useful patterns within data — one of the hottest current professions in information technology.

How does predictive analytics apply to construction and engineering? Dan Kieny, vice president and global director of consulting and knowledge for construction consulting firm, MWH Global, feels the industry needs to observe other business sectors and see their success from using data analytics.

“To increase data assets and the ability to build useful models, data collection must to become part of everyone’s job. At MWH, we put the iPad in the field to collect data. We codify processes in software to use data, to ensure data quality, and to test the applicability of analysis,” said Kieny.

Ultimately, leveraging analytics allows firms in the engineering and construction fields to predict trends and ultimately serve their customers more efficiently. Kieny feels that companies in this sector that don’t start using analytics are at a competitive disadvantage. “If you’re caught flat-footed in the E&C industry and you’re not looking at smart ways to use data analytics and predictive models, companies that are moving quickly will take your market share,” said Kieny.

If using predictive analytics in engineering and construction intrigue you, schedule some time with The Talley Group. As one of the leading engineering staffing agencies in the Northwest United States, they have the knowledgeable recruiters on hand to ensure you stay challenged in your career. Talk with them today!

Those of you looking for a position in the lucrative aerospace engineering field need to check out this list of states with the highest paying jobs in aviation technology. Remember as well to take into account any local cost of living data when deciding whether to make a move to a new region.

Here are the five states where it’s financially rewarding to be an aerospace engineer.

Washington: Home to Boeing and More

Considering Boeing maintains a long tradition of aircraft manufacturing in the Seattle area, it is not surprising that Washington ranks first on the list. With Metro Seattle also home to Microsoft and many other high-tech companies, it is obviously a good place to live for anyone in the engineering field.

Kansas: Not Just a Spot on the Prairie

Somewhat surprisingly, Kansas ranked number two on the list for aerospace engineering. A robust aircraft industry in “The Sunflower State,” centered on Wichita, includes over 200 aviation suppliers that employ close to 30,000 workers.

Alabama: the Rocket Industry Thrives Here

With Huntsville earning the moniker of “The Rocket City,” it makes sense that Alabama ranks highly on a list for the highest paying aerospace jobs. The city, in the northern part of the state, is the home for the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal, where the Fed’s rocket and missile programs are located.

Connecticut: United Technologies’ Worldwide HQ

United Technologies Corporation’s subsidiaries include the helicopter giant, Sikorsky, as well as the airplane engine manufacturer, Pratt and Whitney. Considering UTC’s headquarters are in Connecticut, it stands to reason that high paying aerospace engineering jobs are plentiful here.

Florida and the Space Coast

In addition to being the location of Cape Canaveral and several Air Force bases, 500 aerospace companies also call Florida home. High paying aeronautics jobs here also have the added benefit of no state income tax.

If you are an aerospace engineer, Washington State and the Seattle area remain the place to be for a high-paying position. Spending some time with the experienced recruiters at The Talley Group is a great way the further your career. Since they are one of the top engineering staffing firms in the Seattle area, why don’t you give them a call today!

If you are looking for aerospace engineering jobs in Seattle Washington, search our job board today.

A recent study from the genetic engineering and biotech new site, GEN, rated the top 10 hot spots in the United States for biotech. Included in this alphabetized list was the Seattle region.

As part of this survey, GEN leveraged a straightforward methodology that involved perusing job websites for listings related to biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industries and tallying results based on the job locations in those listings. The five job websites polled in the survey were LinkedIn, BioSpace, Medzilla, Indeed, and Monster.

Seattle Ranked in the Top 10 on the GEN Biotech Job Survey

Seattle ranked on the GEN top 10 list among typical locations like Boston and the San Francisco area. GEN noted that while the city looked poised to be a center in Biotech ten years ago, a variety of events conspired to delay its success. “The region’s corporate biopharma presence has struggled for reasons ranging from M&A activity (Merck snapped up the Rosetta Research Center, then shut it down) to rivals and price pressures (Dendreon has struggled with the $93,000 price of prostate cancer treatment Provenge, plus competition from prostate cancer drugs by Johnson & Johnson and Medivation),” said the magazine.

Things have obviously changed for the better in recent times. Recently, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center named a new director and enjoys good financial health. PATH developed an electrochlorinator with Seattle-based Cascade Designs, designed to purify drinking water — a potential boon for poor locales all over the world.

Biotech Job Scene Growing in Seattle

In addition to the copious amount of available biotech jobs in the region, GEN also praised the new facilities built for Leroy (Lee) Hood’s Institute for Systems Biology and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In short, Seattle is definitely a place to be for those involved in the growing biotech sector.

If you are interested in working in biotech or any other engineering discipline, or maybe are looking for a new position in those areas, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the leading engineering staffing companies in the Seattle area, they provide the insight and experience to help you and your career. Schedule some time with them today. If you are looking for engineering job opportunities in Seattle, contact us today.

While it serves nicely as THE social network for business, LinkedIn is also a place where interested engineers are able to display their thought leadership. The site provides a platform for business leaders to share useful content about their specific industries or areas of expertise.

Here are a few steps that you can take to leverage LinkedIn to display your expertise in engineering — something that helps grow both your career and professional network.

Use your LinkedIn Profile as more than a Résumé

Be sure to regularly update your LinkedIn profile. Not necessarily with new work history or professional industry group memberships, but use it to publicize accomplishments. Things like professional papers, industry awards, and significant work milestones are perfect to enhance your profile. Also leverage the profile’s publications section to highlight relevant written work.

Frequently updating your profile with links to articles you’ve written and other similar activity helps draw traffic and leads to more connections and a larger network. These are good things when it comes time to look for a new position.

Reorder the Profile Sections to Suit your Purposes

LinkedIn allows you to add, delete, and reorder the different sections that make up a profile. If you are fresh out of college with a membership in the National Honor Society or another educational society, emphasize that fact by placing the education, courses, and test scores sections towards the front of your profile. Delete any sections that aren’t relevant as it helps keep the overall profile focused.

Obviously, if you’ve enjoyed a robust career with loads of relevant project experience, this information should lead off the profile. As mentioned earlier, enhancing the profile with publications you’ve written and significant work accomplishments helps you to stand out as a thought leader in engineering or any other field.

If you would like some additional advice on the best strategies for advancing your career in the engineering, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. Since they are one of the top engineering staffing companies in the Seattle area, they can provide the unique insight to help both your and your career. If you are looking for environmental engineering recruiters in Seattle, contact us today.

While the economy is slowly improving after the Great Recession, the job market — a lagging economic indicator — remains in a perpetual recovery state. Therefore, it is important to stand out from the pack when beginning a job search, especially in the world of engineering. There are a few steps to take that will help differentiate yourself from others in the field.

Let’s take a look at how you can put your best foot forward during an engineering job search.

A Testimonial Carries more Weight than merely a Reference

While most hiring managers want a few references if they need more information before making a final decision to hire you, take the extra effort by getting your references to compose a brief testimonial about your capabilities. Include the testimonials with your résumé reference page with their contact information, so your potential employer can get additional feedback on your job performance.

Providing testimonials with your references also shows you are going the extra mile in your job search and reflects well on your work ethic.

Consider Hand Delivering your Résumé

If you are interested in working at an engineering firm, consider hand delivering your résumé. This is a tactic that can be especially effective at smaller firms. You never know, you may actually be able to meet your potential new boss and score an interview that same day.

Include Sample Design Documents with your Résumé Package

In the graphic design world, a portfolio containing examples of the candidate’s previous work is part of a complete résumé package. Why should engineering be any different? Considering including non-proprietary sample design documents that illustrate your work on prior projects. This is an excellent extra step that gives a prospective employer insight into your engineering capabilities.

If you are beginning a job search in the engineering field and think you need some extra help in preparing a résumé, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the leading engineering staffing companies in the Seattle area, they have the knowledgeable recruiters to ensure your job search is successful. Schedule some time with them today! If you are looking to advance your career in engineering, contact us today.

If your engineering career involves sales, with you spending time out in the field, meeting clients and trying to score that next contract, sometimes life can be a case of feast or famine. Either there is too much work for your team to accomplish in a timely manner or not enough to keep everyone in the office busy.

Here are some techniques you can apply to your sales efforts to help you earn more engineering contracts. Following this advice is a good way to ensure any downtime stays to a minimum.

Take an Active Role in the Client’s Decision Making

If you are faced with a client who has a difficult time deciding on what they want, find a way to inject your opinion into their decision making process. This involves walking a fine line without coming on too strong. See if the client has come up with their decision criteria, and share similar information from previous clients if you feel there are similarities to the current bid, as this helps to build trust between you and your client.

A Previous Success Story Always Helps

Clients need to know that going with your company is the right decision. Sharing a success story from a previous client also helps foster a trusting relationship between both parties. Use a story that relates to an issue at hand — for example, if the client is balking at the price, relay a similar concern from a previous client that ended up going well.

Provide Supporting Information

If there is a technical question related to the bid, share any relevant engineering information that answers the client’s query. Go the extra mile in providing any research and impact studies that support your conclusions on the bid statement. Once again, growing a level of trust plays a large role in earning your company that lucrative contract.

If you are looking to further your career in engineering, either in sales or not, be sure to talk to The Talley Group. As one of the leading engineering staffing companies in the Seattle area, they can help take your career to its highest level yet. If you are looking for engineering recruiters in Seattle, contact us today.

Just going to work everyday and sticking to the basic job description of your current position isn’t the best way to advance. In today’s competitive engineering marketplace, it is important to stand out from the pack. The best opportunities remain available to those who put in little extra effort and take a creative approach towards their career.

Ultimately, it is vital to focus on your career as well as your day-to-day job. Here are some easy ways you can create opportunities in your engineering career.

Look Outside for New Business for your Company

One key way to put your career on the fast track is to look outside for new business opportunities for your company. Increase the size of your business network by engaging in local user groups or professional associations. Keep your ear to the ground for any potential leads that could mean new business at your firm.

This activity lets the executive team at your company know that you are adept at business development, in addition to having solid engineering skills. Combining business and technical skills is a key aspect of any successful engineering career.

Display Managerial Skills on the Job

If you are interested in becoming an engineering manager, display those skills in your current position. These include delegating tasks when necessary, mentoring junior engineers, and the previously mentioned business development. Leading a team at work is another excellent way to show your bosses you are ready for an official managerial position.

Create an Action Plan for Broadening your Skill Set

Maybe you aren’t interested in being a manager or a business development executive? If you simply want to broaden your engineering skill set, mention this to your superiors. But be sure to create a detailed action plan that covers any training or project work. Don’t just present a problem — present a solution as well.

If you want some good advice on engineering career development, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing companies in the Northwest, they can help take your career to the next level.