Despite global economic turbulence, the wave of demand for technically skilled workers shows no signs of cresting. This is not surprising. For industries like oil and gas, the average age of its engineers is 50. These sectors are probably looking for young blood.
The telecom industry, too, needs help. Cisco is planning to triple its global pool of network engineers in just five years. Even the Pentagon, typically perceived as a vault of the most brilliant practical minds, is facing a chronic shortage of engineers, as detailed in a worrisome story today in The New York Times.
Specifically, the Pentagon needs systems engineers, people who can wrap their head around big projects and execute them efficiently. Instead of working for the government, these engineers are going to Microsoft and Google, which tend to pay better.
Or, better yet, some are using their skills to manage or aid new companies, launched on the strength of innovation. And there is no shortage of that. Even discounting the games big pharma plays with the U.S. Patent Office, the rate of patent filing has skyrocketed in the past decade. This trend has driven some workers to not only master a scientific discipline, but also become well-versed in intellectual property rights. That’s right, the attorney-engineer is an emerging profession that seems likely to gain prominence.
Most major research institutions and universities have patent offices which help scientists take advantage of laboratory discoveries. As aspiring engineers become more familiar with the value of intellectual property, and how it can make or break a company, the need for legal knowledge may become as important as knowing how to build a highly efficient copper-indium-gallium-selenide photovoltaic cell.
