The size, scope, and state of the energy industry is constantly being examined and discussed by the industry itself, by government agencies, by the public, and by the media. It's an important factor in economic and environmental public policies, in domestic and foreign affairs, and in the overall employment sector. Few industries are as truly global as the energy industry. In every corner of the world, there are energy companies searching for oil, developing fuel cells, harnessing wind power, extracting coal, and generating electricity. In all those corners, in all those sectors, and working on all those tasks are engineers.

Because of the broad scope and global nature of the industry, engineers who pursue an energy career have a wide variery of locations and job functions to choose from. There are geological and drilling engineers working in the Arctic developing new extraction methods for previously untapped fuel supplies; at the same time robotics engineers are out in the oceans developing remote-operated systems designed to explore waters too deep for divers or manned vehicles. Other engineers can be found analyzing data and making recommendations to government agencies on public policy issues, to public utilities on ensuring efficiency and expansion of the distribution grid, and to private companies on ways to optimize their production and minimize transportation costs.

The energy industry is facing growing concerns about world fuel supply, rising demand across expanding markets, and environmental impact. Addressing these concerns presents an enormous and long-term challenge, and engineers - who have been so critical to the success of the industry from its earliest days - will continue to play key roles in meeting that challenge and in creating a stable, secure energy future.

The energy industry is developing new technologies all the time and thrives on innovation. The field offers a staggering breadth of choices and specialties for engineers, and the opportunities it presents are some of the most exciting and challenging you will ever find.

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