As the intellect and skills of environmental engineers continue to be leveraged to help battle climate change, one positive impact is the growth of the environmental engineering job market. If you are interested in this engineering discipline or even if you currently work in the field, now is the time to explore opportunities to make a vital difference both locally and on a larger scale.

With that in mind, let’s explore the surge in environmental engineering jobs a bit more closely.

The Green Engineering Job Scene transcends Disciplines

Green engineering initiatives offer hope for an improved environment and they are also providing lucrative opportunities for companies innovating in many areas of engineering. Grant Trump, president and chief executive of Calgary-based Environmental Careers Organization (ECO Canada), feels this is due to the importance of green engineering techniques transcending traditional engineering sectors.

“Environmental employment is cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary. We are the thread that links almost every industry sector in the Canadian economy, because almost every organization has environmental considerations,” said Trump.

Environmental Engineering Innovations abound in many Areas

Everything from waste water treatment to renewable energy benefits from the application of new engineering technology. This has created copious employment opportunities in many locations in the United States and Canada, including the Seattle area. Kathleen Lyons, editor of Green Job Idea Blog, remains bullish on the employment prospects of the environmental engineer.

“Employment in renewable energy, waste-water treatment, forestry and natural resources will grow, but so will adjunct areas such as finance, hospitality, building, skilled trades. In any industry there is an environmental twist. There is a green cast; a new view of the whole work environment. It’s a paradigm shift,” said Lyons.

In short, if you want a green-friendly engineering job, the market remains promising, so make it a point to edit your résumé and brush up on your interviewing skills!

Partnering with a top notch engineering staffing agency is a great call when looking for employment in any engineering sector. As one of the top employment agencies in Washington State, The Talley Group is a perfect source of Seattle green engineering jobs. Make it a point to talk with them today!

As the specter of climate change continues to cause controversy among politicians but minimal action, this nation’s engineers remain ahead of the game through the innovative use of green energy sources. All engineering disciplines have shown increased use of earth friendly power, but obviously the world of environmental engineering is home to leveraging many new energy innovations.

Let’s take a closer look at few different ways engineers are able to use environmentally friendly energy.

Renewable Energy seeing Widespread Use throughout Industry

Sure, renewable energy sources are good for the planet, but they are also becoming good for a company’s bottom line. Government incentives are helping to “fuel” the growth of green energy at the industry level. Organizations are able to gain cost savings through a variety of “green” programs.

Facilities engineers leverage biomass technology to help heat homes and commercial offices. Solar technology continues to improve in efficiency, making it more cost effective to implement on a house by house basis, let alone in larger scale installations.

Civil engineers increasingly are taking advantage of green energy options for power generation. Solar, biomass, wind, and water energy solutions are all becoming less cost prohibitive. Even something as simple as incandescent light bulb replacement is making a difference in a small way, as illustrated in a project taking place at Atlantic City Air National Guard Base.

Environmental Engineers grow in Importance

Clean energy also helps environmental engineers perform their jobs while saving money in a green-friendly manner. As this engineering discipline is close to the environmental impacts caused by human activity, they are able to directly observe the positive impacts through innovative use of new techniques to manage adverse environmental events, like oil spills.

As humans continue to battle climate change, environmental engineers and their innovations will become more important as the 21st Century matures.

If the innovative use of renewable energy inspires you to further your engineering career, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of the top engineering staffing agencies in Washington State, they employ top notch recruiters that are also a great source of Seattle engineering jobs. Make it a point to schedule a meeting with The Talley Group today!

No matter the engineering discipline, your résumé is the most important piece in your job search arsenal. Environmental engineering is no exception to this fact — even in these days of LinkedIn. Making sure your CV stands out among the competition remains a key factor in ensuring you get the chance at landing a great position.

Needless to say, it is vital to author a résumé that highlights both your engineering abilities and professional experience. Hiring managers only take a minute or two to initially skim each candidate that comes across their desk. Let’s take a closer look at what skills to highlight on your environmental engineering résumé to make sure you get noticed.

Emphasize your Professional Engineering Experience

Obviously your performance while earning an engineering degree still holds some weight, especially if you earned honors in college, but professional experience trumps classroom work. Be sure to highlight your tangible professional experience — both significant and quantifiable accomplishments as well as the skills and abilities you bring to the table everyday on the job.

Certain specific environmental engineering skills that attract the eyes of hiring managers include abilities in pollution control technology, waste treatment techniques, and site remediation. Definitely stress your tangible achievements in these areas and use quantifiable data, such as “improved waste treatment efficacy by a factor of 23 percent.”

Companies want to hire Well-Rounded Environmental Engineers

Those general engineering skills found in all disciplines are also high in demand. Companies need well-rounded engineers who are able to combine the critical thinking and open-mindedness that enables them to develop new solutions to complex problems. If your work experience sports accomplishments that display these capabilities, emphasize them on your résumé.

Towards the top of your résumé should be a section that lists the skills that reflect both your hard environmental engineering abilities and the “soft” skills that make you a well-rounded engineer.

If you need any additional help with your environmental engineering job search, talk to the experts at The Talley Group. As one of Washington’s top engineering staffing agencies, they are also a great source of Seattle engineering jobs. Make it a point to schedule time with them today!

Agriculture and environmental engineering are important disciplines, especially in this era of climate change and the ever-increasing population of the world. Tracing the history of agricultural engineering education at the college level provides insight into its development in the early 20th Century and beyond. North Carolina State University is typical of other American universities in this regard, and as such is the focus of this article.

Growing from Humble Beginnings North Carolina State University created its first agricultural engineering teaching program in 1920, when the university was known as the North Carolina College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts. A four-year course in the discipline actually attracted no students for the first few years, so its beginnings were definitely very humble. The first graduate from the nascent program earned a B.S. in Agriculture (no Engineering) in 1935. Soon afterwards, a fully fledged agricultural engineering degree program saw its first graduate in 1938. Nearly simultaneously, agricultural research efforts began at the college in 1937. An actual Agricultural Engineering Department saw its genesis in 1940, as the program separated from the Agronomy Department where it had resided since its beginnings.

An Expanding Program’s New Lab Space Over the 40s and 50s, the Agricultural Engineering program at North Carolina State continued to grow, taking advantage of an eventual 95,000 square foot facility called Weaver Labs. The university began offering a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering in 1957. In 1965, the department changed its name to Biological and Agricultural Engineering, reflecting the growing importance of biology as it relates to the practice of agriculture. It was the first department in the United States to do so. Currently, Biological Engineering is the only undergraduate program offered, but a significant number of agricultural courses are still part of the coursework, along with environmental engineering and bioprocessing/food classes. If the history of agricultural engineering education, with its evolution to encompass biological and environmental disciplines, inspires use to further a career in this area, talk to the experts at The Talley Group.

As one of the leading sources for Seattle engineering jobs, they have the knowledgeable recruiters on hand t insure your success. Be sure to schedule some time with them today!

When an economy suffers, sometimes car purchases are the first thing to go off of the budget. For the first time since 1950, Toyota will be reporting its first major operating loss. And as a whole, North American auto production dropped 62.2% in January, the lowest monthly total in 18 years.

So what is an automotive engineer to do? What industries should they be keeping on their radar?

Go green.

While automotive sales as a whole dropped 3%, the hybrid market sales continue to increase. New hybrid vehicle registrations rose 38% in 2007 according to data released by R.L. Polk & Co., an automotive marketing research company. And that was five years ago. The Japanese Auto Repair can help with fixing your automobile at the right time and the right way.

With gas prices climbing steadily over the past few years, more car buyers are looking for more miles per gallon for their buck. Long gone are the days of carefree gas-chugging Hummer driving and production. Today consumers are looking for safe, reliable gas sipping vehicles.

Terry Woychowski, a General Motors executive, believes that the car needs to be reinvented through green design, removing automobiles out of any environmental equation. Instead of traditional internal combustion systems, vehicles are being moved by electricity, through highly technological and economic systems.

For those looking into the engineering field, this could be another golden era of invention, changing the automotive culture. Companies will be looking for engineers with strong backgrounds in electronic control systems, battery technologies and lightweight materials.

For many potential automotive and environmental engineers, this could be considered their dream job. Not only is it a great engineering challenge, but it’s also providing a better outlook for the future of the environment and economy. Designing a car that lowers family gas prices can truly help those struggling to make ends meet.

General Motor’s E-Flex Performance Engineer, Nina Tortosa, deals with a lot of pressure in her emerging field. But she knows the benefits outweigh the stressors. Tortosa is focused on developing the next plug-in car, which will run 40 miles without using any gas. She is working on perfecting the Chevy Volt, a car released this fall, which is getting a huge buzz. The Volt is powered by an electric motor, which draws power from batteries. The batteries are recharged by a very small internal combustion engine.

Tortosa acknowledges the importance of the engine, but also reminds engineers to take another look at aerodynamic design. She spends up to eight hours a day in a wind tunnel, trying out different concepts to reduce drag on a vehicle. The reduction in drag results in a better fuel economy.

Contact The Talley Group for the best positions in new green technology, and you may be able to be a part of the next great automobile invention.