We love high paying jobs here, and one of the best industries to find those jobs is the energy sector. Energy jobs are growing at an incredible of 3% per year (outside of the ugly-in-all-ways 2020), with salaries of up to $100k/year or more. It’s kind of a touchy subject, but it’s so important that we really need to understand it so we can figure out how to handle it.
So, how can we create more high paying energy jobs?
Here are Five Fast Facts about energy jobs:
- 🌆💰Start With Basic Economics - Yay, supply and demand! If the supply of a thing goes down but demand remains high, prices go up; if the demand for that thing goes down but supply remains, prices go down. The opposite is also true. So, if you want prices to go down, you make more of the thing that people still want. In the real world, this means that if you want lower prices on gas, you need to make more of it, which means finding and refining more oil. So, bring on the leases, my friend, it’s time to drill-baby-drill!
- 📝📚Call A Spade A Spade - When it comes to energy production, the wettest blanket is government regulation (we’re shocked, SHOCKED!) Sure, we need at least some of it to make sure companies don’t ruin the environment, but there’s a better balance than where we are now. Current federal law requires boatloads of agencies to perform environmental studies for anything and everything related to energy production. That slows things down by years. It’s nuttier than a squirrel’s winter hideaway! Even the IRS manages to get their annual work done in only a few months.
- 🔁Recent History - Did you know that America was energy independent just 3 years ago? The causes and the spin depend on which side of the aisle you ask, but the numbers are the numbers: in 2018-2019 America had certain months when it even produced more energy than it consumed. It was the first time in 60+ years that happened! We. Were. Just. There. There’s no reason we can’t be again…if we do the right things again. #groundhogdayplease
- 🛢️How Did We Do It? Oil, natural gas, and coal make up 79% of the energy used by this country, so those are the keys. The recent success was achieved largely by using technology to expand domestic oil and natural gas operations. We found and acquired more of the stuff we needed right here at home, no Middle Eastern deserts needed.
- 🎱The Specter Of Speculation - The other thing that can’t be ignored is speculation. This is essentially buying tomorrow’s oil at a certain price based on the best guess right now of what it will be. Investors with big bucks can buy huge quantities that actually influence the market to produce more (or less) based on those future price guesses. This can artificially warp supply and demand – and pricing – for everyone while those slimy hedge fund managers laugh their way to the bank.
🔥Bottom Line: We have two main conclusions here. First, we need to be careful of speculation, and watch out for that artificial warping of market pricing. If there’s any additional government oversight to be had, this seems like the place for it to be. Second, if we want more high paying energy jobs, we need to expand energy production. It really is that simple. Now, bring on the jobs!
Guess what? The President isn't the only one who influences energy jobs - so do YOUR local & state government reps! So here’s three small things you can do that make a BIG impact:
