Nuclear Engineering Creates Jobs That Stay In America
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Tags: Education, energy, energy policy, Jobs, nuclear energy, nuclear power
Tags: Education, energy, energy policy, Jobs, nuclear energy, nuclear power
The promise of new jobs is one of the main points for transitioning the US economy toward self-sufficiency. "Green Jobs" as they are called, are going to power the new economy. This all depends on how and what information you might be looking at of course.
Manufacturing jobs are highly subject to energy costs and labor costs. Where labor and energy can be had for less, the likelihood those jobs can move elsewhere is highly probably as we've seen in the past few decades. Service and engineering jobs that are location dependent are more likely to endure.
It is without debate that the nuclear energy industry will continue to expand and advance, if not in the United States, then elsewhere in the world. An adversarial business atmosphere toward nuclear energy will prompt the industry to do what all global businesses do -- go where the money is.
It would be a great tragedy indeed if the recent tide of change in the nuclear industry was reversed and America's intellectual base for nuclear energy was lost to China and France.
The recent article in USA News and World Report (http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2008/08/14/the-new-hot-job-nuclear-engineering.html) covers the resurgence of nuclear engineering students in universities. This is encouraging news as it shows that young people now see the potential of nuclear energy to contribute toward a thriving economy and career opportunity.
The article makes this point in closing:
Even if the American nuclear renaissance isn't fully realized, universities have a role to play in the burgeoning global market for nuclear energyâ€"a force even the U.S. political machine can't stop. The United States still has some of the best training in nuclear safety standards of any country in the world, and foreign students comprise almost 50 percent of the enrollment in some U.S. engineering departments. These international students are expected to return home with some of world's top training.
In my opinion that is the whole point of the article. We must recognize that peaceful civilian nuclear energy is here to stay. The less we understand, accept, and embrace that reality, the more economic uncertainty and loss of scientific credibility we will risk.
Manufacturing jobs are highly subject to energy costs and labor costs. Where labor and energy can be had for less, the likelihood those jobs can move elsewhere is highly probably as we've seen in the past few decades. Service and engineering jobs that are location dependent are more likely to endure.
It is without debate that the nuclear energy industry will continue to expand and advance, if not in the United States, then elsewhere in the world. An adversarial business atmosphere toward nuclear energy will prompt the industry to do what all global businesses do -- go where the money is.
It would be a great tragedy indeed if the recent tide of change in the nuclear industry was reversed and America's intellectual base for nuclear energy was lost to China and France.
The recent article in USA News and World Report (http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2008/08/14/the-new-hot-job-nuclear-engineering.html) covers the resurgence of nuclear engineering students in universities. This is encouraging news as it shows that young people now see the potential of nuclear energy to contribute toward a thriving economy and career opportunity.
The article makes this point in closing:
Even if the American nuclear renaissance isn't fully realized, universities have a role to play in the burgeoning global market for nuclear energyâ€"a force even the U.S. political machine can't stop. The United States still has some of the best training in nuclear safety standards of any country in the world, and foreign students comprise almost 50 percent of the enrollment in some U.S. engineering departments. These international students are expected to return home with some of world's top training.
In my opinion that is the whole point of the article. We must recognize that peaceful civilian nuclear energy is here to stay. The less we understand, accept, and embrace that reality, the more economic uncertainty and loss of scientific credibility we will risk.
