America's Power Sector Is Aging, As Demand For Energy Keeps Going Up [Infographic]
Kelsey D. Atherton
at 07:18 AM Feb 23 2015
Power Lines
E Photos via Flickr CC BY 2.0
Energy // 

A lot of attention is paid to America's aging power infrastructure. As the 21st century continues on, and people purchase newer devices that demand more power from the grid, it's easy to miss another essential part of the power puzzle: the skilled technicians and engineers who make it all work. They're aging, and much like the parts of the grid they maintain, they'll need to be replaced in the thousands over the next decade.

 

This infographic comes from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and it highlights three interlocking facets of future power infrastructure needs: The infrastructure of the future is going to be greener than the past; demand on power will come in large part from consumer electronics; and the workforce needed to maintain and sustain that grid is aging and changing. NJIT notes the average age of workers in the power sector is 50 years. Over half of these engineers and skilled technicians will need to be replaced in the next decade, and almost half of the engineers working on the national grid have been on the job less than 10 years.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology frames the changing demographics of the power sector workforce as not just a challenge, but an opportunity. For any place that functions to train engineers, it certainly would be.

Check out the whole infographic below:

 

U.S. Power Sector: Big Concerns & Opportunities
New Jersey Institute of Technology
comments powered by Disqus
Filed under:
Sign up for the Pop Sci newsletter
Australian Popular Science
ON SALE 28 APRIL
PopSci Live