“Avoiding the Ax: Where the Jobs Are,” by Sarah E. Needlemn, Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, 23 December 2008, Vol.CCLII, No. 148 p. D1.

Good news for engineering. According to the article, engineering is always in demand and now the fields of” environmental, biomedical, civil, aerospace and industrial” will be in even greater demand. The stimulus proposed by the next administration, according to the article, is also likely to increase even the further demand for engineers given the stimulus is to be focused on improving infrastructure.

Some companies are looking to not only fill vacancies but to increase the number of engineering position they have. Among those looking to expand is SRI International, a company I collaborated with on a proposal many years ago. SRI “specializes in engineering, public policy, life science and technology research.”

I caution that this information should not be used to make a career choice. I am often asked what fields of engineering are most in demand and I respond the ones with the most students. Right now I would say the biomedical engineering is one of the smaller fields but if the field grows tremendously then the number of students will increase to fill the jobs. Free market principles apply to jobs and college majors just as they do to the economy.