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Chemical, Biological, Mechanical And Electrical Engineers
Industry: Energy
Area: Bioenergy
One of the goals of the US Department of Energy's Biomass Program is to foster a domestic biorefinery industry modeled after petrochemical refineries. These new industries would convert the material that makes up the cell wall of plants (lignocellulose) into a wide range of products, including ones that would otherwise be made from petrochemicals. As with petrochemical refineries, the vision is that the biorefinery would produce both high-volume liquid transportation fuel (meeting national energy needs) and high-value chemicals or products (enhancing operation economics). Chemical, Biological and Mechanical Engineers will be needed to design, develop and implement the processes that will take the "biomass program" from theory into production.
Work Settings
Engineers would work in the biorefinery. Manufacturing plants have stringent safety requirements which are designed to prevent accidents.
Education
A bachelor's degree in engineering is required for almost all entry-level engineering jobs.
Job Outlook
Engineers are expected to have employment growth about as fast as the average for all occupations though 2014.
Salary
Wages for engineers vary widely from $40,000 to $90,000 or above depending on experience and education.