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Is there a future in "energy engineering"?

  • 24-01-2010 8:25pm
    #1
    mukeng
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭


    Hi all,

    In your opinion, what is the future of "Energy Engineering" as a career in Ireland? Given the current dynamics of our economy, and the uncertain future of pretty much everything, I have been considering my options.

    I have been speaking with an aquaintance that is near retirement (working over seas); his advice to me has been that during difficult times, one should try to refine their skills and consolidate their experience with a view to becoming a best in class expert in your field, rather than becoming an average sheep following the flock to temporary greener pastures, that will be depleted all the more quickly with every out-of-work engineer trying to grab their little peice of it.

    So - for general debate, I ask: what is the future of "energy engieering" in Ireland? I am not talking about wind turbine or biomass plant designers, but rather energy consultant type roles .... doing energy audits and identifying energy saving opportunities etc., and that sort of thing......


Comments

  • #2
    matsil
    Closed Accounts Posts: 127 ✭✭matsil


    I am hoping that the outlook is good ;)

    I have just recnetly made the move from M&E consultant to Energy consultant. I have a good solid construction experience base behind me but I have been gearing up for the energy sector for some time now - studying for a Msc. in Energy and taking a strong professional interest in the field, influencing projects and getting as much experience as I could in the field.

    There certainly is more competition in the sector now than there was a year or two ago. Hopefully we will not see an over population of energy engineers!

    Matsil


  • #3
    lg123
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,039 ✭✭✭lg123


    many out of work M&E engineers are considering this route now and loads of the third level institutions are offering energy engineering related courses. i think the market is/will be flooded with professionals in this area. all the M&E engineers will have no where else to turn until the commercial/industrial construction industry picks up again. i dont know about you but i dont see that happening any time soon.

    matsil, how many of your colleagues have taken a similar route?


  • #4
    matsil
    Closed Accounts Posts: 127 ✭✭matsil


    lg123 wrote: »
    many out of work M&E engineers are considering this route now and loads of the third level institutions are offering energy engineering related courses. i think the market is/will be flooded with professionals in this area. all the M&E engineers will have no where else to turn until the commercial/industrial construction industry picks up again. i dont know about you but i dont see that happening any time soon.

    matsil, how many of your colleagues have taken a similar route?

    Yes, there are many people from all manner of professions trying to get qualified and employment in the energy sector.... architects, all disciplines of engineering, QS, trades people...... it is the golden goose at the moment.

    But, many of us have been working towards this for some time. Particularly so M&E engineers. In a typical design team, architects like to take the credit for producing sustainable buildings, but truthfully in my experience they are more concered about the paint colour and the door furniture than they are about low energy solutions...... and it is inevitably the M&E guys that end up driving the sustainable elements of a project. Particularly so at the moments, as soon as Part L is mentioned, architects love pushing the problems onto the services engineers...... and then later advertise on their web sites how they got an A rating on something..... and they know nothing about air tightness, daylight lighting, solar shading, natural ventilation....... so my point is, in the sustainable and energy sectors, we M&E guys have been working hard to improve energy efficiency for a long time, often against the resistance of our peers and specualtive developers tight budgets.

    For me, the migration has been a gradual and progressive one, gaining experience where I could, and researching and studying. I have moved into the sector by choice - from a stable full time position with a good M&E consultant..... by choice, not redundancy (or the threat of).

    To answer your question directly - yes..... there are lots of colleagues trying to make the move. But this question is thought provoking - the economy will not be where it is for ever, and when it starts to pick, albeit at a more steady and slower pace, there will be M&E consultants needed to design new buildings and refurbish old ones.... so there is merit to the arguement that for those M&E engineers that can weather the storm, it may be the case that they'll be first in the door to get the lion's share when the tide turns???


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