Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’re bound to be aware that energy is becoming more and more important as a global concern.  Global warming is an underlying driver, as is the scarcity of supply. There are many strong indications that our planet is suffering from the side-effects of our primarily fossil fuel driven energy economy, and there are also strong signs that we’re running out of fossil fuels that we can economically turn into energy.

In particular, energy management (the industry term for controlling and reducing energy consumption) has become a priority for governments worldwide, and pretty much all of us are being encouraged to reduce our energy consumption by rising energy costs and government incentives.

But energy management holds opportunities that extend beyond reducing energy consumption in our own homes and offices.  There are many ways in which you can pursue a career in energy management / conservation.

A good starting point may be one of the many energy related courses that are springing up in universities around the world.  For example, Clayton State University, Atlanta, Georgia recently started offering an attractive course on energy covering topics such as home energy conservation in some detail.

The Clayton State course is far from being unique, as there are many other such courses to be found. Many of them are focused specifically on energy management. The following courses are just a small sample:

• Energy Management at the University of Otago, New Zealand
• Energy Management MSc, University of Stirling, UK
• Graduate Certificate in Energy Management, University of South Australia
• Global Energy Management Program at the University of Houston (for more of a business oriented perspective)

Each of the courses above is different, so, if you’re considering moving forward in this field, it’s worth studying them, and others, carefully. But generally speaking there are a number of career options that a course in energy could put you in a strong position to pursue:

• Many organizations are now hiring dedicated energy managers to work to reduce the organization’s internal energy consumption.
• The field of energy auditing is becoming more and more important – many people are employed to audit both residential and commercial buildings to assess energy efficiency and to help reduce energy consumption.
• Green building design is another growing industry. Architects and building services engineers need increasingly detailed knowledge of energy concerns, or access to specialists with such knowledge.
• Energy efficient products are becoming bigger and bigger business each year. Innovation is occurring in all sorts of sectors ranging from HVAC equipment (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), to IT equipment (green data centers), and job opportunities are increasing accordingly.