Description: The U.S. federal government has been hiring energy professionals at a rapid pace. Between the American Climate Corps initiative that launched last year, and the immense amount of funding allocated for energy under the Inflation Reduction Act, government career pathway has rarely been so exciting.

Roles: Roles are available for every type of academic background and interest, including engineering, environmental science, physics/R&D, chemistry, material science, public policy, finance, economics, law, and more.

Departments: The bulk of the opportunities will be found in the Department of Energy (including the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)) and the Environmental Protection Agency, but the Bureau of Land Management, the Department of the Interior, the Energy Information Administration, ARPA-e (R&D) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission also get involved. Other countries have a similar multitude of roles available in the energy space, for example in the European Commission, Ofgem (U.K.), Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (Japan), etc.

Programs for Undergrads: FERC Summer Internship Program, DOE/EPA Pathways Programs, FEMP DOE Scholars Program, ARPA-e Internship Program, Energy Information Agency Internship, Ofgem Graduate Development Program

Description: Given the sizeable influence of state and local government in shaping energy policy, the potential impact of these roles is massive. State utility/public service commissions are a particularly interesting place to check out, as they approve utility rates and often influence the generation mix of the utilities. State governments also tackle this issue, driving energy strategy and implementing climate goals. Work in these roles will have a more limited scope, but also provides opportunities to make tangible and sizeable impact.

Roles: Roles are available for most academic backgrounds and interests, including engineering, environmental science, physics/R&D, chemistry, material science, public policy, finance, economics, law, and more. The opportunities tend to skew more towards policy for state/local compared to federal.

General Employers: State Public Utility Commissions, State Energy Office/Department of Environmental Quality, Town or County Sustainability/Energy Management Office, Municipal Utility, State Energy R&D Agencies

Specific Opportunities: NYSERDA Internships, North Carolina Utilities Commission

Internship Program, NC State Government Internships (in clean energy)

Description: NGOs operate independently from governments, but tackle many of the same large-scale issues. Many NGOs in the energy space work to bridge international boundaries and consolidate global energy knowledge. A pro of working for an NGO instead of government is that there is often less bureaucracy and things may be more fast-paced, but governments ultimately have more tools to enact change.

Roles: NGOs employ experts from a wide range of backgrounds, including economics, finance, public policy, engineering, law, writing, and statistics. Many have a large emphasis on research, data collection, and publication, so experience with these fields is especially helpful.

Description: Also known as RTOs and ISOs, these non-profit organizations manage the grid at a regional or state-wide level, consolidating many different utility service territories. RTOs and ISOs generally perform the same functions, but RTOs tend to cover a larger geographic area. These organizations are primarily concerned with ensuring grid reliability, which they maintain by overseeing interconnection queues, electricity markets and trading, transmission planning, and network upgrades.

Roles: Roles within an ISO/RTO are generally on the more technical side. Most

opportunities cater towards those with backgrounds in electrical engineering, math, statistics,

finance/trading, and law/policy.

Description: Non-profits are entities organized and operated for public or social benefit rather than to generate profits for their owners or shareholders. In the energy sector, there are a wide range of non-profits: some larger ones that focus on a host of energy issues, and some much smaller ones that focus on more specific niches within the industry. Most non-profits focus their efforts on lobbying, advocacy, or data collection and publication.

Roles: Non-profits are generally, although not always, on the less technical side of the industry. Thus, they tend to hire most from backgrounds in public policy, economics, writing, statistics, research, and especially law. However, there are some non-profits in the R&D and construction space that cater more to backgrounds in science and engineering.