綠色行業(yè)就業(yè)率悄然穩(wěn)步增長(zhǎng)
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????親愛(ài)的安妮：我的一個(gè)兒子和一個(gè)女兒剛剛進(jìn)入大學(xué)，我恰好讀到您最近的一篇文章，其中講到選擇感興趣的專(zhuān)業(yè)。我女兒打算學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境工程專(zhuān)業(yè)，我不知道這個(gè)選擇是否明智。在我看來(lái)，幾年前，許多人都在談?wù)摗熬G色”工作崗位，可最近這種熱潮似乎消失了，甚至很少能聽(tīng)到與可持續(xù)發(fā)展領(lǐng)域有關(guān)的新增崗位。我自然支持孩子們?cè)诖髮W(xué)發(fā)掘自己的興趣愛(ài)好，但我也希望他們?cè)诋厴I(yè)之后，能在所選擇的領(lǐng)域中找到機(jī)會(huì)。您怎么看？——M.M ????親愛(ài)的M.M.：一般來(lái)說(shuō)，如今凡是與“工程”有關(guān)的專(zhuān)業(yè)都是上佳的選擇。不同行業(yè)的雇主們一直在瘋狂爭(zhēng)搶STEM（科學(xué)、技術(shù)、工程與數(shù)學(xué)）畢業(yè)生，他們根本供不應(yīng)求。 ????此外，四年之后，這種人才短缺或許會(huì)更嚴(yán)重。據(jù)美國(guó)勞工部（The Department of Labor）預(yù)測(cè)，未來(lái)幾年，STEM崗位空缺將增加17%。許多高等院校的學(xué)生似乎也意識(shí)到了這種趨勢(shì)：青年成就組織（Junior Achievement）與ING U.S.基金（ING U.S. Foundation）最近進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查就顯示，約有一半（46%）美國(guó)青少年表示，他們希望從事STEM職業(yè)。盡管如此，這個(gè)比例相比2012年仍然減少了15%。 ????而據(jù)美國(guó)勞工統(tǒng)計(jì)局（Bureau of Labor Statistics）預(yù)測(cè)，截至2020年，環(huán)境工程專(zhuān)業(yè)的就業(yè)將增長(zhǎng)22%，高于平均水平（而且，環(huán)境工程師目前的平均收入約為80,000美元）。為了讓女兒有更好的前途，你或許可以建議她選擇水文地理學(xué)和土木工程學(xué)等學(xué)科，不論這些學(xué)科是否是必修課。 ????朱迪斯?阿爾伯特說(shuō)：“目前和未來(lái)幾年，對(duì)環(huán)境工程專(zhuān)業(yè)需求最大的領(lǐng)域是水供應(yīng)管理。美國(guó)許多地區(qū)都面臨嚴(yán)重水資源短缺問(wèn)題，而且供水基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施陳舊或漏水。這將是長(zhǎng)期而巨大的工程挑戰(zhàn)，解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題需要很多人手”，而且會(huì)創(chuàng)造很多工作崗位。 ????阿爾伯特是紐約市“綠色”公司與風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資家聯(lián)合企業(yè)環(huán)保創(chuàng)投（Environmental Entrepreneurs，E2）的執(zhí)行董事。這個(gè)非營(yíng)利組織的800名成員已經(jīng)創(chuàng)建或投資了超過(guò)1,400家可持續(xù)能源和其他環(huán)保領(lǐng)域的公司。這些公司目前的員工超過(guò)500,000人。 ????據(jù)環(huán)保創(chuàng)投報(bào)告，僅今年第二季度，商界和各地方和州政府新啟動(dòng)了至少58個(gè)清潔能源與交通項(xiàng)目，約創(chuàng)造了40,000個(gè)工作崗位——比去年同期的37,000個(gè)略有增加。環(huán)保創(chuàng)投的新網(wǎng)站介紹了新工作崗位的所在地：目前可以登陸美國(guó)綠色就業(yè)交互式地圖按州（加州遙遙領(lǐng)先）或行業(yè)（太陽(yáng)能、風(fēng)能、綠色建筑等）進(jìn)行搜索。 ????阿爾伯特承認(rèn)，與前幾年相比，綠色崗位的熱潮略有消退，但并不意味著綠色行業(yè)陷入了停頓。她說(shuō)：“綠色活動(dòng)和工作崗位都在實(shí)實(shí)在在地持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)。許多變化都非常微妙。比如，通常不會(huì)被視為“綠色”的許多行業(yè)，目前都在大力推廣可持續(xù)發(fā)展。” ????比如說(shuō)呢？阿爾伯特稱(chēng)：“日產(chǎn)汽車(chē)公司（Nissan）在田納西州生產(chǎn)電動(dòng)汽車(chē)，在它的停車(chē)場(chǎng)里安裝了汽車(chē)電池充電器，這些都是清潔能源領(lǐng)域的工作崗位，盡管組裝線上的工人仍會(huì)認(rèn)為他們‘只是汽車(chē)行業(yè)的從業(yè)人員’。沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）表示希望減少包裝，以幫助減少垃圾，此舉推動(dòng)整個(gè)供應(yīng)鏈成本上千家供應(yīng)商做出了轉(zhuǎn)變。” |
????Dear Annie:Since I have a son and a daughter starting college right now, I read your recent article on picking a major with interest. My daughter plans to study environmental engineering, and I'm just wondering, is that a smart choice? It seems to me that there was a lot of talk about "green" jobs a few years ago, but now that seems to have faded away, to the point where you hardly ever hear anything about job creation connected to sustainability. I'm all for my children pursuing their interests while they're in college, but I'd also like to see them get opportunities in their chosen fields after they graduate. What do you think? -- Monterey Mom ????Dear M.M.:As a general rule these days, any major that includes the word "engineering" is an excellent bet. Employers across a wide range of industries are snapping up STEM (for science, technology, engineering, and math) grads by the thousands, and there aren't enough of them to go around. ????Moreover, the shortage may be even more acute four years from now. The Department of Labor forecasts a 17% rise in STEM job openings over the next few years. Many high school and college students seem to be getting the message: Almost half (46%) of U.S. teens say they want to aim for STEM careers, according to a new survey by Junior Achievement and the ING U.S. Foundation. Even so, that's a 15% drop from the number who said so in 2012. ????As for environmental engineering, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects faster-than-average employment growth of 22% by 2020 (and notes that environmental engineers currently earn a median salary of around $80,000). To boost your daughter's prospects, you might suggest she take a few courses in hydrology and civil engineering, whether or not they're required. ????"One of the biggest areas of demand for environmental engineers, now and in the years ahead, is water-supply management," says Judith Albert. "Many parts of the U.S. are facing serious water shortages plus an old, leaky water-supply infrastructure. It's a tremendous engineering challenge that isn't going away, and solving it will take a lot of talent" -- and create a lot of jobs. ????Albert is executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), a New York City-based consortium of "green" companies and venture capitalists. The nonprofit's 800 members have started or invested in more than 1,400 enterprises in sustainable energy and other earth-friendly fields. Those companies now employ about 500,000 people. ????In the second quarter of this year alone, E2 reports, businesses and local and state governments launched at least 58 new clean-energy and transportation projects, generating almost 40,000 jobs -- a slight increase over the 37,000 such jobs created in the same quarter last year. E2's new website shows exactly where they are: An interactive map of green employment in the U.S. is searchable by state (California leads the pack) or by sector (solar energy, wind power, green building, and so on). ????Albert acknowledges that, as you note, there isn't as much fanfare about green jobs as there was a few years ago, but that doesn't mean things have come to a halt. "There is a real and continuing growth in green activity and jobs," she says. "A lot of what's changing now is subtle. For one thing, a big push for sustainability is spreading through industries that people don't usually think of as 'green.'" ????Such as? "When Nissan builds electric cars in Tennessee, and installs car-battery chargers in its parking lots, those are clean-energy jobs, even though the people on the assembly line may see themselves as 'just car guys,'" Albert says. "And when Wal-Mart (WMT) puts the word out that they want less packaging, to help lessen the clutter in landfills, that pushes change all through the supply chain" at hundreds or thousands of vendors. |
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