1) Career choice...engineering. Some other type of applied science degree for starters maybe a close second?

2) Career change....hmmmm....nursing, trucking, teaching, retail management of some sort perhaps? Banking and insurance have been around forever and will probably stay that way for quite some time to come.

Eco-ninja.

1.- Medicine.

2.- Learn to: repair things, make mechanical/electrical installations, operate machine tools.

Farming/Gardening/Horticulture/Permaculture expert.

I hate to say it and don't recommend it, but but the most assured job will be taking care of old people.

I would suggest that the less money it takes to make you happy the easier it will be to find/develop/maintain a "career" that will support it.

That the lower your financial needs the easier it will be to find a “career” that is fulfilling and does not compromises ones integrity.

Most important is find a "career" doing something for which you have a passion.

Here would be my top 10 list (and no, Dave Letterman may not use this!) and reasons:

10. Civil Engineer - as long as there are people we'll need communities laid out.
9. Sanitation Engineer - should be obvious.
8. Nurse - even when health care systems fail people will still need attention.
7. Plumber - people will pay you to do what they find disgusting.
6. Carpenter - eventually we'll need to rebuild everything.
5. Motorcycle repair - work on the standard of personal transportation in the future.
4. Machinist - everybody else on this list will need your tools.
3. Ag Technician - while someday the current agriculture economy will fail, until then your services will be greatly needed.
2. Railroad Engineer - the great comeback occupation of the 21st century.

and at the top of the list....

1. Gunsmith - just in case everything else fails.

I just started the program in Sustainable Systems in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan. The program has been maxed out for several years. They just hired three more faculty.

It's refreshing to be in a place where people are technically savvy but also aware that the challenges we face are multidisciplinary and go beyond strictly techno-fixes. My background is engineering but I'm convinced "generalists" will find job security in the future, although perhaps not the largest paychecks.

http://www.snre.umich.edu/degree_programs/sustainable_systems/overview

My wife and I have been putting serious thought into this, both for ourselves and for our two children, 5 and 9.

Here is what we have come up with:

-Strong maths and sciences. Plan on being ABLE to be a competent information worker. The gadgets for the wealthy economy may last for some time. Don't be premature in abandoning the tech bubble - ride it to the end, because others will, and they will have the buying power you need in order to survive. Remember that in some countries education and career are more or less a light-hearted game. Schooling in the US is incredibly easy, but remember that on a world-wide basis you need to compete with the top 1% or maybe 2% in order to have any kind of standard of living. People work hard, hone their skills, and act with razor-edged purpose. Know where you are going, how you are going to get there, and correctly choose your level of engagement.

-Keep the language and culture. We have a primary language that we stress the most, English as a strong backbone and technology language, and a third cultural literacy language.

-Learn to read/write Chinese, if you don't already know it.

-Learn to relate to the physical world at a level well above simple "skills". Like rights with regard to relating to humans, skills are a lowest common denominator of how to relate to the physical world. Learn to be fluid and seamless in working with wood, metal, machines, earth, stone, and the natural settings. Get past skills - leave them in the dust and relate at an intuitive, knowing level. It takes about two years to become an information worker. I takes about two decades to be fluid in the physical world.

-Learn to move heavy things with simple technology and almost no effort.

-Go into the Peace Corps or some other foreign development volunteer organization and don't for a minute believe you have anything to teach "them". Learn from them.

-Have professional level mastery in several things. Don't be a Swiss Army knife - a mere gadget. Be several things that people will pay or barter for. It doesn't matter what your list is, but it should inlcude few enough things that you can do at a professional level of quality and efficiency, and yet have enough variety as to be adaptable. Have some certifications, licenses, and whatnot to back you up, and have a portfolio for each "skillset" (I use that word because it sells well, knowing on the inside that I operate at a higher level).

-Detach from any notion of "having". If your house burned down, would you be able to go outside and enjoy the fire with not even the smallest shred or regret?

-Learn to make music.

Tyan in Seattle

Look at people around you (and on tv) Lots of professions seems stressed out, or to cary the weight of the world.
Vets, geologists, zoo keepers, people that work (at least sometimes) outside seem to be the happiest.

Also considder if you like to work over the internet (meaning you can travel anywhere and still work) or if you prefer 9-5 or maybe job rotation, 1 month working, 1 month off.

Engineering is always in demand, but you can easily become so specialized that its very hard to change career later. (when you become bored of the n'th variation of the same product)
The huge responsibility (you screw up and people get hurt) is not for everyone, and employers are very picky about who they hire.

Craftmanship is solid. You wont make as much in salary, but you get 4-5 more years to work in. You will have a car when the college boys take the bus. Also, being able to fix more stuff yourself is golden. Use your brain for lifting stuff or it will wear you out quickly.

I have two children, both of whom are successful engineers, but I do not expect those occupations to be viable for more than a decade or so. The most important skills to be learned for the future are those related to subsistence agriculture. Food, clothing and shelter are our most basic needs, but producing food will become the most important, since clothing and shelter will be available for some time as a "legacy" of the oil age.

Most people in developed countries have enough clothes to last several lifetimes and the typical home can shelter far more people than it does at present, but food is perishable and stockpiles are slim. Those who want to survive the coming bottleneck need to find a place to grow food and the skill to do so.

My wife and I are in our sixties. We live on several acres in Hawaii. I believe that our most important legacy to our children and their families will be a place to which they can "retreat" and survive. I just hope that they can get here when they need to.

For some definitions of "young person"...

1. If you've been studying "Computer Science", Computer Engineering, or some nebulous "IT" field, learn something else. Stay with your parents if you can. Don't move out if you possibly can. Your career as an IT professional is probably shorter lived than you might think.

2. If you know the difference between core memory and solid-state memory, see suggestion 1, above, and hope you are not too old.

Be prepared for the electricity to stop working 24/7. If you have found or can find a job that pays well for your skill set--especially via telecommuting, by all means enjoy it while you can. Best of luck.

I have an eighteen year old son who is facing this decision. His Russian brother says Dietitian and I say perhaps Mycologist.
The connection?
Both are to do with food.
The Limits to Growth predictions are that we will have to divert capital (what capital?) from industry to food production.

As a hobby him and I shall try to make progress on the CANR/LENR issue.
And learn to sail in case peace is a fantasy.

I would advise any young person to look at learning some sort of technical skill be it engineering degree or a trade. Learn how to make things first and then (if you must) do business studies. If they can, a dual electrical/mechanical focus will give you skills for life. You really can tell the difference between a professionallly trained technician and a self taught amateur and it nowhere is this more evident than when talking to environmental activists who do not understand the physical limitations on renewable energy. Economists who have no grounding in physics have the same problem.

I'm not sure what to advise a career changer because I think it really depends on your previous skill set. I am just undertaking a science (energy) degree in mid life but my previous work and life experience in engineering is making it much easier and I daresay enjoyable. I am finding the transition to urban gardener much more difficult so I would be hesitant to take on a new career in farming.

Right career choice - to what end? Making the most money? Realizing the most happiness?

I would caution those starting out in their career with engineering and the applied sciences. I graduated as one of the top students from the top engineering school in the world in my chosen field. I went to work as a rocket scientist and many of the engineers there were second to none. Bright, hardworking, worthy of the multi-billion dollar mission critical systems and lives depending on them. And guess what? We were collectively treated like dirt, whereas the executives were treated (and acted like) royalty. I can cite dozens of incredibly brilliant engineers who shared this experience. Everyone I know, to a man or woman, who left engineering for something else ended up both much happier and better compensated. Society does not value engineers, generally speaking, so why become one? I have tripled my salary in a few short years since leaving the engineering field and going into consulting.

Figure out what will make you happy and find a place where it intersects with making a decent living. Most kids coming out of college just don't know and must experiment with careers to make it to a good place.

It would depend, of course, on the particular talents of the individual in either case. For those young people who have a talent for math, some branch of engineering relevant to energy ought to be high on the list. I think it's a fair bet that the decades to come will see a great deal of scrambling to find and develop energy resources, and people with technical skills in any energy-related field ought to have no problem finding work.

Another field that's likely to be a good prospect for young people is organic agronomy. People who can produce food and raw materials from farmland with little or no fossil fuel inputs will be essential as petroleum supplies fall short of demand, and people who can teach farmers how to get by without fossil fuel inputs will be even more likely to do well.

For those who are looking for a new job in their middle years, my best advice is to find some way to create your own job rather than trying to find somebody to hire you. Right at the moment we're passing through a massive economic discontinuity which -- despite the current round of handwaving about recovery -- still has a long way to go. Until the rubble stops bouncing, self-employment providing some good or service people need or want is likely to be a better bet than trying to find a niche feeding a dysfunctional economic machine. That's my $.02, at least.

Electrical engineering.

I am a degreed mechanical engineer (BSME U of MO 1980, plus subsequent courses) that has worked for transportation companies, defense contractor, energy company and now as a transportation consultant. Engineering is a good profession, but only if you like math and science, besides having a knack for problem solving.

The health care field will always be a steady employer, but as the economy SLOWLY winds down don't expect wages to be climbing like they have in the past 20 years (have many relatives and friends in this field).

For those that are not inclined for an extended student life in college, I would suggest getting a degree in some technical field or craftsman type occupation. This includes metal working (welding, sheet metal, machine tool operations), electrician, plumber, woodworker (carpenter), and draftsman/surveyer. Some of these fields do not require a lot of education, but instead will require an appenticeship or "on the job" training.

Peak oil does not mean the end of oil use, but the realignment of our society and economy to use less oil in those endeavors that remain. A lot of jobs will be available in energy efficient transport modes and building infrastructure for those modes: railroads/ mass transit and waterways. Also the agriculture industry will continue to grow and strive to become more energy efficient while shifting to more natural methods of control/production.

DO NOT become an airline pilot, lawyer, financial advisor, accountant, investment banker, real estate broker, truck mechanic (diesel mechanic for railroad is OK), or anything employed by the travel/entertainment industry. Any occupation that is not directly involved in producing some tangible good for society and people will be marginalized.

I see less opportunity for IT people and more opprtunity for those that create, modify and rebuild the physical world.

Maybe you guys can help me out a little. I think I'm in the dilemma of my life.

I am 23 years old and currently studying my second year of Petroleum Technology in Norway.
My grades are the best of everyone in my cirlce of friends, which pretty much include all
the people who are social. Most likely I can get a job when I'm finished and get 600000kr (100000$)
as a beginners salary.

Problem is that I can't decide if I should switch to Physics. I want to work
with nuclear power plants, and I find physics very interesting. Not that petroleum engineering isn't
interesting, but I kinda wanna be part of the solution(thinking about climate and peak oil).
And to be honest, I believe the future lies in electricity and nuclear power plants.

But we don't have nuclear power plants in Norway, and the salary will not be as good. Not nearly as good
probably. Money is not my drive, but 50000$ a year is a lot... We do have neighbors like Sweden, Finland and England which build nuclear power plants and maybe I can work there?

So what do you guys think? (Not really interested in the debate on nuclear power-good or evil-, as I've had that one quite a few times). I can switch courses, but i need to decide before christmas.

As an automotive mechanic myself, I know I am riding the tail-end of a wave to its finish, likely with sufficient momentum to carry out to the end of my lifetime. I have advised my kids to study business and English, as two disciplines that are useful to be proficient in whatever you do.

My younger brother's an M.D. - and there's lots of perks.

Need a bit of home repair? Agree to some kind of exchange for services with a school buddy.
Need a trip to sandy lands? Attend a paid conference. For a reward they give away family trips to DisneyWorld for $800.
Need some fancy toy? Participate in a pharmaceutical survey. You can get a Ferrari for 30% off.

But best of all, you get those Deep Pockets full of cash. It's the gateway to the upper class.

Mortitian--People are always dying, so your services will always be in demand.

It depends on your view of the future.

I would think most on this site would see further economic contraction & serious liquid fuel stress in the immediate near term.

Declining EROEI & deflation due to debt blowout will make any economic growth in the future pretty well impossible.

This will put horrendous stress on city & suburban lifestyles which IMO are pretty stressful now. I have never lived in a city and it amazes me that people put up with the congestion, noise, dirt, deadbeats & crime in them. It's only going to get worse.

Choose a career that allows you to live & work a fulfilling life in regional or country areas. Farming, mechanics, electrician, pharmacist, doctor, small town lawyer, veterinarian (that's what I do) and so on.

Fresh air, trees, genuine people, regional food, tight helpful communities, low housing and living costs.

Cities could get real ugly in the years ahead with power or food shortages. Local and regional agricultural communities will be more likely to be sustainable and survive the decrease in societal complexity that we have now entered.

Man I hate to say this but the best career approach is probably Investment Banker if you have the foresight to play the game to get out. Engineering does not provide a lot of exit opportunities. Your building stuff for a BAU world even if you tried to go into alternative energy.

Rob the bank and run if you will except these days that means working for the bank.

The problem is the world runs on money and altruistic endeavors suffer from cash flow issues.
Lots of things you can do if your smart enough to make some quick cash and buy your chosen doomstead with cash.

But you need to plan ahead. The plain truth is that to really try and make it in and alternative life style you need about 100k of cold hard cash more is of course better to a point. Few jobs offer a way to accumulate that much capitol in a short amount of time. At the same time you have to not be sucked into the lifestyle.

To some extent you have to play along but you can buy the cheapest BMW perhaps used so the "boys" don't know your planning on bugging out.

If I could do it all over again knowing what I do now thats what I'd do go be a Stockbroker for a few years make bank as much dough as I could for as long as I could stand it then quite pay cash for a doomstead and go to votech or engineering/ag school medicine etc learn something useful. Take my daily cash flow way the hell down till I was able to live decently on peanuts. Assuming everything is paid for and you say have a decent organic farm going you can make and ok living off the farm. Farming is still profitable if you have zero debt and watch your expenses like a hawk. Working "in town" can bring in the needed cash so your still growing your savings.

I did not do this I'm on plan B if you will which means looking at a much cheaper doomstead 30k or less for a reasonable place in backwoods Arkansas/Missouri or Ohio etc. Its doable on a lot less cash although its not what I want to do for me its a final decision once I go alternative I'm not going back. On the other end if you think you need 5 million dollars then you don't understand what your doing and your still trying to play the game.

In my own calculations as I get over 500k or so in "dream" money it becomes obvious I'm still trying to hold onto the past. Certainly 500k is nicer than 100k if you had it but it becomes less relevant for a doomstead real alternative lifestyle as you go over that. Of course other regions of the country have much higher doomstead fees. California and East cost a good doomstead could cost millions. However again you have to question why your trying to create a doomstead in such and expensive area. Moving it but still staying in the region can dramatically lower your costs. Say you wanted to stay near family in New York well Penn or Upstate makes a lot more sense and drops the prices back into my < 500k window. In short if your serious about a doomstead right now you better off buying a better one in a poorer part of the region than trying to do it in and expensive area.

But to finish in the end given the way things are going today its in my opinion all about cutting cash flow and becoming reasonably self sufficient. If you can do that then you can embark on a real alternative career of your choosing you have all the time in the world.

Banking

I read avidly and rarely comment, but this one is near and dear to my heart. I'm surprised and frankly disappointed to note the assumption implicit in so many of your comments that a good career is one in which one can earn lots of money. I disagree.

My children are sick of hearing this, so I'll say it to you: when I was growing up (I'm now 56), success was all about how much money you made. We said, "Cousin Tony is successful," meaning Tony made a lot of money in his job. In the age to come (say, the next 20-30 years), success will be measured by the extent to which you can find a way to be happy while making little or no money.

So my career advice to a young person today would be to learn to live simply, to grow some things, to build some things, to love with tenderness and passion, and to dance without fear. Let the rest take care of itself.

I can't imagine having the temerity to offer such advice besides, "What would you like to do?" and perhaps some suggestions to avoid plainly ludicrous paths (homeopathy, Reiki, psychoanalytic and/or literary theory).

Recommendations based on predictions of the future are futile. They beg the question: What is the future, exactly?

The future is not "out there" waiting to be predicted. It will probably surprise everyone. Little did the builders of the Tower of Babel know what was in store for them.

For a young lad: Army Officer. Teach leadership skills which will be very important in the future.

For a young lass: Seamstress or other textile related work, the fashion industry will be around in its current form for sometime, but people will always need clothes and someone good at making fine clothing will always find work for the rich.

And if the young seamstress met the young army officer then there could even be a soppy film script as a bonus.. You know the type: gallant hero just back from the Civil War fighting the Tea Party revolutionaries walks into her shop to have his uniform repaired. Takes one look into her longing eyes... two years later, the crib is full of gurgling sounds but the Officer is back on the trail of marauding Perma Culturistas (they never could get the yield from the land..) While the Officer is away the evil Town Sheriff forces his 'acquaintance' on the young woman. Word finally reaches the recently promoted Colonel in the field. He is straight to horse (his electric jeep was rubbish). He arrives back and heads for the saloon and calls the Sheriff out. The Sheriff leaves his poker game, swigs down the last of his whiskey and staggers outside. The Colonel wins the quick-draw and the undertaker is happy. Fade to credits as Colonel and Missus share a passionate embrace. Filmed in Technicolor..

;)

Hmmm. Rupee counterfeiter. Kitteh herder, official sidekick, disco mime, Walmart greeter, penguin fitter,..oh...you mean careers with a future ?

Can't say I envy kids these days. Bewildering choices to be made in the face of such uncertainty. There are a fair amount of younger people that are of the belief that things will go bonkers in the next year or 2( solar max, planet X BS etc,etc, ) and that there is no future for them. They see themselves as caught between making a choice for naught, or not making a choice at all. There are a fair amount of them that are living in the Mad Max fantasy future, where their current actions have no real importance in deciding their future....seriously.It's disturbing to hear things like that firsthand from local highschool kids (I teach at a cooking workshop.) I try to explain that this has been a running theme for some time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaHhxRGYjFA

My own experience taught me that earning a degree does not necessarily mean a viable future career. Everything I learned and used as a graphic artist/commercial designer 20 years ago, is obsolete. Nobody uses manual typesetting anymore, and the demand for people who can code in basic, is non-existent. I earned my degree by the time I was 18,...practically useless these days, unless designing a logo or something silly. But wait, I'm a chef too,..oh.. the restaurant business went to sh*t, thanks to Emeril & Food Network....bam. I have made much better money as a restaurant consultant in the past 3 years, only because I was savvy enough to foresee the need to " trim the fat ", but even that gravy train is slowing to a halt. Now, I'm at the point of going to families' homes, helping them design a viable food budget and menu, how to grow and process their own foodstuffs, turning them on to permaculture, biodynamics, etc ...and as usual, I see more waste than ever. It's bothersome to me that I live in a country where we still throw away more food than some countries consume in a year's time. It's a mindset that's handed down from generation to generation, that helps set the example that man's dominion over nature is absolute..wot an illusion 'eh ? What will it take, I wonder ?
Soylent Green ?

Bob: " Anybody see Bill around lately...? "
Fred: " No, it's probably been at least 3 sandwiches, ..I mean days, since I've seen him .. burp.."...'guilty look'

I myself, would like to, and am preparing, to go back to school at 38, to study engineering, among other things, and the main fear I have is that what I will study will be obsolete by the time I graduate..what is the future ? I foresee meta-materials, synthetic biology, C & E engineering, ethnopharmacology (<--big one),logic/logistics,( I can think of quite a few more) but with a rapidly changing world, who's to say what will be the best choice ? For myself, I see taking a multidisciplinary approach to studies will fare better for me in the long run.

It's been 20 years since I've stepped foot in a classroom. I'm somewhat intimidated and have a very lopsided education as a base. Trying to learn things online is maddening, since everybody has their own ways of teaching(especially maths), although youtube has some great Yale course lectures, aside from things like that, it's more frustrating than anything.. I read at a college freshman level in 3rd grade, but failed math repeatedly, eventually dropped out in the 9th and got my G.E.D. when I was 16 and went straight to college. Grades at that point ? F in everything( even got an F- once ) except science courses, "A",lol. What did I study ? ..Art...'slaps forehead'. ...this is going to be interesting.....I'd love to hear from anybody who has or is undergoing the same things, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Horticulture, as in medical marijuana grower, combined with aquaponics. Grow their weed and cure their munchies all in one operation. If you live in a State that seems likely to legalise medical use, go ahead and get your operation going now, growing winter tomatoes, herbs, peppers, etc. Focus on using renewables for your energy sources.

Avoid going into debt to attend college. Take as many courses as you can at community colleges. Many have a great selection of applied courses taught by folks actually working in the areas they are teaching.

Energy prices are going to keep going up.So businesses are going to want to hire people who can help them use energy more efficiently. So perhaps HVAC engineer.

My comment also serves as a follow up to my post of last week as I actively teach career search to grade 10 students. (When not teaching trades).

I have a course theme, "We Need You", which allows me to introduce many topics such as, peak oil, currency issues, economic decline, GW, and the looming retirement of old farts (such as myself and friends, mid baby boomers). Add to this many other issues.

Then, we do psych profile tests administered by someone who knows what they are doing. It is no use finding a career you hate.

We then go through career search and career matchmaker courses which are online resources.

Students are required to pick something (career)...or a few possibilities, keeping in mind the challenges the world is presently facing and what they can do to make a place for themselves in it, and/or actively help with the problems. You will often hear. "we need transportation specialists, designers, engineers,smart builders, fabricators.....whatever.

Students are also required to pick a few training institutions....all must pick post secondary training regardless of ability or intelligence....something. Once the what is ironed out, we move to the how and cost....pre-requisites, costs...tuition and living, whatever.... this also includes outlook in a world of shrinking consumption.

When the students are restive we will watch clips on problems, for example we just finished a bbc special called "If the Oil Runs Out". Interviews don't work well.

This is unit one, 1 hour and fifteen minutes a day, for 1/2 the year. On Tuesday we start health and safety which will also require first aid training as well as all matter of health issues/choices. We will be watching "Food Inc".

I am presently working on my unit about democratic responsibilities. A kind of use it or lose it thing. It should allow the introduction of business owning politicians and the process, and what individuals should do as responsible citizens to become informed and involved. )No propaganda allowed, beyond the age old 'rights and responsibilities.

This is a mandatory course for all grade 10s. If you get an unexcited teacher it is a fuss off course. I take it very seriously and require commitment; and so far, the response has been overwhelming and unbelievable. Furthermore...no do = no graduation. That is the stick. The carrot is being needed. Students pretty much all rise to expectations unless their baggage is too heavy.

As to this weeks question the answer is in short, "find a passion or something you like, make sure you can prepare yourself well for the transition, plan on helping pay for the schooling and know exactly what you are embarking upon. Don't expect handouts or an easy ride." Finding yourself after high school is not an option. You guessed it "we need you".

Regards to all...Paul

Now, to stuffing prep for our Thanksgiving dinner and looming family arrival. This year has a special meaning for my wife and I because we are so damn thankful.

Get a petroleum engineering degree. Take an internship, or work for at most, 1 year.

Take the money and buy farmland, and make nice with the local permaculture/organic/certified-natural crowd. Make sure you've got a well-equipped shop with welder, and start designing small-scale permaculture biorefineries, which can be tailored to the locally available feedstocks, instead of this mega-refinery and one feedstock to rule them craze that currently dominates petroleum and biomass.

An excerpt from ELP Plan essay from early 2007 follows. Perhaps a related question is what Sharon Astyk calls the "Brother-in-law on the sofa" syndrome, i.e., incoming unemployed family members--what do you advise them to do?. Having an ongoing garden/farm operations allows one to take an incoming liability, unemployed family members, and convert them into assets, i.e., farm workers.

http://graphoilogy.blogspot.com/2007/04/elp-plan-economize-localize-prod...

Jim Kunstler has suggested that we should not celebrate being largely a nation of consumers. I agree with Jim. We need to once again become a nation of producers. I recommend that you try to become, or work for, a provider of essential goods and services.

Key recommended sectors are obviously energy--conventional, non conventional and alternative energy production and energy conservation--as well as food production, especially local organic farming close to towns and cities.

Other sectors to consider are repair and maintenance, low cost energy efficient housing, low cost transportation, basic health care, etc.

The biggest risk to family finances is trying to maintain the SUV, suburban mortgage way of life in a period of contracting energy supplies. Beyond that, one of the next biggest risks in my opinion, is excessive and unwise spending--especially debt financed spending--on college education costs.

While we will desperately need engineers and many other technically qualified graduates, we are seeing wave upon wave of college graduates entering the work force with degrees that very poorly prepare them for work in a post-Peak Oil environment. We may ultimately see college graduates competing with illegal immigrants for agricultural jobs.

Perhaps the best education investment that many young people could make is a two year associate degree in some kind of repair/maintenance area, perhaps with summer jobs in the agricultural sector.

I would especially recommend that you consider buying, perhaps with a joint venture group, a small farm, either currently organic, or that can be converted to an organic farm. In the short term, if nothing else you could lease it out to an organic farmer. Longer term, you might consider building or moving a prefab, small energy efficient house to the farm. If nothing else, this plan may provide a place of work for your unemployed college graduate.

How about bicycle mechanic/builder/inventor/engineer? Are there courses in bicycle engineering? And if not, someone should invent said courses. I would like to think the future will be very much about how to increase the efficiency of going from point A to point B using as much human power as possible and as little fossil fuel as possible. Lately, I have become fascinated with recumbent tricycles and human powered vehicles. There is a lot of work happening in this field and I would hope it would begin to come into the mainstream.

I would think that people who can fix things like bicycles/tricycles and can improve their operation would always be in demand at the community level. It seems like a way to make a living,however modest, while also doing something clearly beneficial for the world.

Anyway, obviously, any recommendation would depend on the young person. What is their passion? It is a cliche, but of course one should follow one's passion if at all possible.

I am impressed by the number of interesting and useful career options proposed here.

I am surprised that none have dared a peek at the dark side.

In a civilization on the way down, it would seem obvious that criminal activity will rise. There will be a a market for jobs in security and protection, but I am quite certain that job opportunities on the criminal side will be much more plentiful.

If survival supersedes morality and ethics, stealing, smuggling, prostitution etc. become very useful skills to have.

Not very nice, but probably realistic.

lukitas

Lots of people are saying medical field. I would agree, but with a focus on herbalism and psychology/counseling. Herbs will be around long after the lab-produced medications are gone (many of the latter being isolated chemicals from herbs). There will be plenty of psychological trauma in the coming decades. Even if you dont charge for your services as a psychologist/counselor, the people you help will have a strong motivation to keep you around/ help you out. Society is the key to survival in ANY future scenario. Keeping people in happy, functioning relationships with eachother is a must-have skill, whether gotten in degree form or as an innate skill.

Undertaker.

Cult leader.

I've never felt it was a good idea to suggest specific career paths to people. Everyone is different, and everyone needs to find a path that works for them. My advice would be to get as broad an education as possible, both academic and practical. As I look back on my personal educational history, I see things I'm thankful I did, and things I wish I had done differently.

In college, learn as much science and math as possible, but also as much literature, history, and geography as you can. Get some real depth in at least one area of science or math, and one area of humanities.

College is important, but don't let it get in the way of your education. Besides academics, somehow find time to learn some other basic skills as well. Carpentry, or basic wiring, masonry, or gardening are all good choices. As are many other skills.

Try to stay healthy and fit. Learn how to pay attention to other people, and to care about their wellbeing. On the other hand, it can also be a dangerous world out there, so learning some basic weapons skills is not a bad idea.

You can't do all of the above, but try to do as many as you can. You will be a versatile person who can adapt to whatever happens. Somehow out of that mix something will click for you and you will find your niche.

There have been classical musicians for thousands of years already and will likely be for thousands of years more. Classical music will never go out of style.
Long after oil is gone and electrical energy is in short supply, classical musicians will still be playing non-electric instruments and giving concerts - And making a decent living doing same.
There also will be a good living to be made building and repairing these non-electric classical musical instruments.
Also, post peak oil I would guess that going to church will become more important to people and so building and repairing church organs might be another good interesting career.

Another good choice might be foundry engineering or management. We are going to be remelting and recasting a lot of metal to repair and build things post peak oil.
Cupolas and charcoal furnaces might be a dirty technology, but it is also a cheap and easy method of melting iron, steel, bronze, brass, copper, aluminum, pot metal etc...... Alloy testing and lab work will be very important in this area also.

Rotational balancing expert. All rotating things have a need for someone with the knowledge and expertise to balance the rotating parts to eliminate vibration (which can damage or destroy the rotating item) and also knows how to deal with harmonic vibrations. Fascinating field!

Glider (sail plane) instructor. There are going to be a LOT of ex-power plane pilots that will want to continue to fly and will need teaching how to make the transition from powered flight to non-powered flight.

Along the same lines, there is going to be a need for sailing instructors for teaching sailing in small sail boats. All those people now driving around the lakes in high horse power powered boats looking for fish will need to learn to sail or else be stuck rowing or paddling - Being lazy, most will choose sailing.
Owning a small business selling small sail boats and also maintaining and repairing them might be an interesting long term career.

I would suggest that people first stick to career choices that suite their own individual strengths. Seems to be a good bet that the future will hold strong for those skilled in providing the very basic needs to their surrounding community. IMO the following fields will be highly sought after: Security, Farming, Medicine, Carpentry, Weatherization, Plumbing, Electrician, Engineer, Bicycle Repair....

If you don't end up being highly skilled at something useful then there will always be the fallback position of laborer. There is likely to be plenty of labor intensive work in the future.

How about teaching some skill you have? If you are good at knitting or you like poetry/books, gardening, are skilled at taking care of small livestock, or a language, or fixing things, karate, yoga, sewing, children`s music classes, book circles (you give a little lecture, rich bored people might like this and pay you)...tutor, pottery, painting, cooking, beads, etc etc.

If you can have the lessons in your house then there is no need to pay rent. Many people are constantly looking to upgrade their skills and youtube videos (as useful as they are) can`t really be the answer. Also people love social occasions and small classes are really great for socializing. I know tons of people in a bad job market who are giving lssons in what they are good at. One is a pastry chef. One teaches singing. One is a tutor for school age kids. Also I knw a leather craft teacher.

Small classes are also a great way to network---you will learn from your students about many things. OPen doors, the grapevine and all that. Stay connected and you get to work with your passion. I guess the most important thing is that you ARE really interested and care about the field/craft you teach in. Build your community and be a part of a group of skilled people in it who is known for this skill.

Dentistry: Everyone has teeth that need looking after, the profession has a long history pre-oil peak, and will undoubtedly be in demand long into the future. Pay is good working environment is good, one will likely become self employed and own ones business. The main problem with a career in dentistry is practitioner burnout and a high suicide rate: This can be managed by choosing a good team and exercise outdoors, eating well and having outside interests to avoid the depression that overtakes many practitioners.

Its a good gig but like any high stress job dealing with the public it can get too much: plan on needing to take time away from the surgery from time to time to get your head straight.

I'm a petroleum exploration geophysicist, and I'd do it all over again (study geosciences). Why?

Because our human race is putting so many demands on our planet that we will need people trained in geosciences who can both extract, mitigate, and find substitutes for mineral resources.

Thinking way beyond peak oil, we will need people trained to find and use geothermal resources, to explore for minerals like rare earths for batteries, plan carbon sequestration programs.

Geosciences also includes the fluid envelopes of the earth, not just the solid earth, so geoscientists will be needed to model the effects of climate change on the environment and human society.

I can't think of a better career for a nature-loving, outdoors-oriented science and math minded young person to go into that geosciences.

My 24 years in this field have been a gift. I wake up and can't believe they pay me to do what I do. And yes, I get paid well. I get to travel the world. I've seen things few have seen, with a scientific insight most people have not developed, the gift from my university professors, most of whom are retired now. Thank you, guys!

As for the comment elsewhere here that failed engineers go into geology... that's bull. I was an engineering major at Brown, doing fine, but changed to geophysics because I found engineering to be boring. I kept on taking the same engineering courses (like fluid mechanics) as my engineering peers all the way through college, and did as well as they did.

Except, at the end of four years, I wasn't staring into space, wondering, "Why did I major in engineering? Was it because Daddy told me to?"

If the person is able to do the math/science, I would suggest a base degree in Mechanical or Electro-mechanical engineering (I'm biased as the latter is one of my degrees). At the same time, pick up one or more of the skills below (many have said some of these already);

1. Bicycle mechanic - this area will boom, and electric boost may be quite popular
2. Velomobile designer/builder - people will want an all weather solution, electric boost also important
3. Timber Wright - Barns and sheds will need to be built again.
4. Craftsman/Handyman who also knows how to make/repair all sorts of simple, valuable devices, including those from recycled components.
5. Gunsmith - no explanation needed

An associates in engineering technology is an alternative that might be as valuable without quite as much math/time/tuition, and as one person stated above, is much less expensive and gives a sheepskin at the end of two years that can be extended with a transfer to a 4 year school if desired (or feasible).

If a person is not mathematically and mechanically minded, then other skills will be needed as well;

6. Goat dairyman - everyone will want milk, cheese, and meat, and all goats really need is grass. Plus, they are easily managed (as opposed to having a bull around)and goat milk/cheese brings a premium already.
7. Teamster (possessing a set of draft horses and the necessary implements, possibly including timber extraction)
8. Fiber arts - from wool (card, spin, weave, knit, etc) to linen (rippling, retting, hackling, weaving) to cotton and perhaps hemp.

I would focus on those areas that will derive a premium price from the products produced, as opposed to say, a corn/bean farmer.

O.K. Since the bent here is towards engineering;
The most productive new fields are photonics, nanotechnology, and condensed matter physics.
Photonics deals with light like electronics deals with electricity. The exciting things right now are photonic crystals and negative index of refraction materials. Both of these are examples of nanotechnology, here in the form of nanostructured materials. See "Photonics Magazine".
In electronics, spintronics is oncoming. Electronics deals with the existence, pressure, and volume of electrons. Spintronics adds, maintains, modifies, and propagates knowledge of the electron's spin-state.
Nanotechnology at present offers huge advantage in the development of new materials with new properties. If you want to do something new, you need either a new material or a political agreement. Brass is brass, through-and-through. Nanotech materials are like a melding of micro-textured, micro-sculpted, and composite: the properties arise through minute fabrication. Carbon nanotubes are very exciting right now.
Condensed mater physics offers another class of material manipulation altogether. The Bose-Einstein condensate and similar soups offer the ability to deal with matter like we deal with light: matter optics... matter lasers... depositing atoms of choice exactly per a plan... all somewhat beyond casual, innate understanding.
Biotechnology is very exciting. Did you see the synthesized bacteria with its own website coded into its genes? Nuclear engineering may allow us to proceed without so much as adjusting the thermostat... though I fear the lead-time and conditions for any such similar salvation has been squandered.
Hope springs!

I think it's wrong to prepare for "careers."

The best approach is to learn skills that will keep you alive in the post peak world.

Forget careers. Big corporate jobs are a thing of the past, and will become increasingly scarce.

So what's a smart young person to do?

Major in history, learn permaculture, study literature to learn to think critically, take lots of course in the natural sciences. Learn about drama and dance.

You get the picture.

Soil and crop science and watershed science are probably the ideal college majors for the coming period. They're already in high demand and will be much more so as global warming, population increase and decades of shortsighted, destructive policies put pressure on the global food and water supply. Being involved in these things puts one at the forefront of the basic needs of mankind as we enter into the coming age of perpetual crisis. Not only that, but as the world changes and all the hyperactive vibrations of money and energy breakdown, and the parasitism upon parasitism and elaborate cultural ornamentation of our economy disappear, the knowledge gained will continue to place one not just in a position of survival, but of leadership.

Soil and crop science especially has so much of value to offer a thoughtful permaculturalist. The pioneers and radicals--the Lawtons and Holtzers--show us that the sky's the limit as far as where permaculture can be practiced, and what it can yield. But it takes a lot of thoughtfulness and an eye for the infinite depth of an ecosystem's interactions. With a nod to these folks, and an understanding that permaculture takes experience, hard work and the right attitude more than anything, I expect that we will learn more and more just how fecund the earth can be if we work with it rather than against it. Scientific knowledge has a role to play in this, alongside praxis.

A new type: the technician as peasant.

I offer this a bit tongue-in-cheek, but how about "Peak Oil Lifestyle Consultant" (or "Post Peak Oil Career/Lefestyle Couselor"). You put an ad in a local newspaper: "Broke? Can`t pay bills? Peak oil is the reason! Advice $15/hr" Then you offer advice to people based on their circumstances: their skills, talents, age group, health profile, family situation, land and asset ownership, work experience, transportation needs, etc. Basically you help them see things in the new post peak way, help them understand oil is not coming back....show them charts, discuss thermodynamics at whatever intellectual level the client can manage. Discuss sun-based ways of life and issues to do with competition/pride/"alpha male" mindsets and how to overcome these mindsets. Offer to do presentations for companies and local city governments.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding peak oil out there. We at TOD are a bit ahead of the game but millions cannot really get through these posts (no time, too tired, illiterate, no computer access, etc) Why not try to help these people by selling your time as a post-peak consultant? Once again, you help yourself too as you can learn from others in your community. Of course, when you work with people with no money, you might have to accept barter instead of cash, but so what?

Societies under stress often go through religous revivals. It may not do much practical good, but the people find it a necessity, nonetheless.

It does not take much formal training or education to become a revivalist clergyman in the US, since there is no established church to bar entry. Rent Ingmar Bergmann's "The Seventh Seal" and you'll be on your way.

Many here are recommending careers that require college degrees. While I certainly applaud those seeking higher education, it has been discussed on TOD that the payback time for a four year degree is increasing........

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2514432/posts

...and many graduates are not able to get jobs in their degreed fields. I expect this trend to continue for most, so choose your area of study carefully if you plan to reap financial rewards any time soon.

I wonder how this graph will play out in 5-10 years.

It is interesting, but not suprising, how few career recomendations commented on involve hard, manual labor. I assume "career" is the same as a job, or work necessary to provide shelter and food to your family? Young adults these days, unless from a rural, agricultrual background, in my opinion tend to avoid labor at all costs...never did it, too lazy, don't wanna. Everybody's life plan is to get out of college and immediately get in front of a computer and a hundred thousand dollar a year "career." It is now a society that has moved entirely away from producing, making things, whatever it might be, to servicing one another. In 2006 33,000 kids in the US took the bar exam and 189 earned petroleum engineering degrees. If the discussion here is relevant to peak oil and a changing world in coming years, if you base your ability to feed yourself on servicing your neighbor you are going to be very hungry.

I worked on my father's drilling rigs when I was 8 years old, by the time I was 18 I was a driller for a big company in West Texas on 10,000 wells; I worked on workover rigs, did well control work, set up tank batteries, dug miles of ditches, be-friended a geolgist who taught me structural geology, how to slip logs and contour maps. I borrowed money, sold deals, taught myself to buy leases and basic oil and gas law, engineered my own multi-string wells using my own geological maps, using and losing a lot of my own money. I can weld, run any piece of equipment there is, stand on a rig floor in the freezing rain all night, work weekends and Christmas days, whatever it takes. I can squeeze out a living operating 2 BOPD oil wells, making hundred of barrels a day of water, and make Saudi petroleum engineers ask how in the world?

I have no degree. What I've done was just hard work and it does not make me any better or worse than anyone else. I wish I had a degree in PE, or geology; I would have still gone to the field and done it the hard way.

Find something you want to do that you believe in, put your head down and don't look up for 30 years. Whatever it is you decide to do, don't quit. Ever. It is only one out of 200 kids I see come thru the oilfield that I think will stick, and what to learn, that see it as an open field to run in. Most of them look at hard, manual labor as something they need to go to college to avoid. If what a few say on TOD is true about the coming energy storm then the ONLY way to survive, and thrive, is going to be thru hard work.

So, get some blisters. Pick up a welding hood, learn to run a tractor, how to manage soil and water resources, get mechanical. Get an oil well or two. Better yet, a water well or three. Don't go to Cancun for vacation, buy some dirt to plant. Work. It won't kill you, trust me.

If you are REALLY clever and REALLY special then you could aim to collect all the maths, engineering knowledge, 'people skills' and commercial skills needed to work for - or even found - a successful 'green' company.

This might be a wiser long-term approach than taking any of the other traditional routes for the highly gifted.

What careers are best?

I wonder if this is a bit of a question spawned from a bit of a mindfuck.

I have another question: What is a career and why do we need one?

If you choose to devote a significant portion of your waking hours to something, what happens to you and your world around you as a result?
For example, where do you get your food, home, clothes?
Or what happens to your environment given someone else's career in mining or tract housing or automotive engineering?

What if you don't want to work or want a career? What if you just want to, say, hike, swim, chat, hang out, and maybe do some planting, maintenance and foraging of/in your gardens and the occasional maintenance work to your natural/local-materials home? Teach your kids at home. Teach them about stuff like what you do?

Again, when we get careers, what happens?

In our lives that we only live once, what do we want in and of them? Be honest.

With a "tip of the hat" to Todd, OFM, Darwinian, etc...

I'm thinking "Village Elder" looks very promising.

Don in Maine

My purpose is to make the world a better place.

The barrier between us as we are and the earthly paradise we could have is lack of wisdom-- and a huge supply of un-wisdom- in action.

To the degree that I am able, I should work to increase the one and/or reduce the other.

I should find and do what I like to do, what I am relatively good at, what does at least apparent good, and what does no harm.

And if circumstances force none of the above, well----I should do what all life does and always has done-- just try to keep going. Who knows, something might turn up.

After all, the future is, fortunately, intrinsically unknowable.

I'm 24, just graduated with interdisciplinary BA that focus on energy and environment.
Also went 2 art school for 2 years to study multimedia.

Right now I assist an artist who is creating climate/energy awareness art and film.
But I spend much time thinking about this career question, as I think about how to become more independent.

I'll toss 3 out there that I think will continue to grow tremendously in next 50 years.

1)Communications (think this will be preserved at all cost)

2)Energy (especially renewables,distributed generation infrastructure, storage)

3)Making walkable, livable communities for retiring baby boomers.

"Using the data provided by the United State Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erik Rauch has estimated productivity to have increased by nearly 400%. Says, Rauch:
'… if productivity means anything at all, a worker should be able to earn the same standard of living as a 1950 worker in only 11 hours per week.' "
~ Wikipedia
[So what does this suggest? What's happening/has happened?]

"Vlaun: That was one of the first garden books I ever read back in the 70s . . .'the No Work Garden Book.'...her book and the Nearings' 'Living the Good Life' They were the two people I read back then.
Mollison: I remember reading a book rather like the Nearings'. It was made in England . . . I've forgotten the guy who did it . . . and I thought it was a lesson in rotten hard work for very little result."
~ Interview with Bill Mollison

"Did you know that before the Industrial Revolution, the average person worked for about two or three hours a day? Studies from a wide range of pre-industrial civilizations show similar data --- it takes only about fifteen hours a week to provide for all of our basic human needs. And that's using hand tools."
~ http://www.waldeneffect.org

"London: The same principle probably applies to human energy as well. I noticed that you discourage digging in gardens because it requires energy that can be better used for other things.
Mollison: Well, some people like digging. It’s a bit like having an exercise bike in your bedroom. But I prefer to leave it to the worms. They do a great job... Catch the water off your roof. Grow your own food. Make your own energy. It’s insanely easy to do all that. It takes you less time to grow your food than to walk down to the supermarket to buy it. Ask any good organic gardener who mulches how much time he spends on his garden and he’ll say, 'Oh, a few minutes every week.' By the time you have taken your car and driven to the supermarket, taken your foraging-trolley and collected your wild greens, and driven back home again, you’ve spent a good hour or two — plus you’ve spent a lot of money. [and you've blown precious resources and supported factory farms]
London: Even though permaculture is based on scientific principles, it seems to have a very strong philosophical or ethical dimension.
Mollison: There is an ethical dimension because I think science [and careers, etc.] without ethics is sociopathology. To say, 'I’ll apply what I know regardless of the outcome' is to take absolutely no responsibility for your actions. I don’t want to be associated with that sort of science.
London: What do you think you’ve started?
Mollison: Well, it’s a revolution. But it’s the sort of revolution that no one will notice. It might get a little shadier. Buildings might function better. You might have less money to earn because your food is all around you and you don’t have any energy costs. Giant amounts of money might be freed up in society so that we can provide for ourselves better.
So it’s a revolution. But permaculture is anti-political. There is no room for politicians or administrators or priests. And there are no laws either. The only ethics we obey are: care of the earth, care of people, and reinvestment in those ends."

---

I left the 'career' question "empty" and posted what you're reading as a small note of my change-of-direction, and of protest against the "social contract" having been severely breached.
If "our" social contract stipulates that we work at a 'job/career' that is part of an increasing wage-gap and meaninglessness; that pays taxes to governments for genocide/foreign-invasion/resource-plunder/whatever-whim/etc. under military-defence/security pretexts; and that removes us from providing for our basic necessities in a natural sense, such as food and housing, and gives us, in return; unsustainability, factory farms, genetically-modified organisms, toxin-laced-food, global warming, cookie-cutter/monster/tract housing, soil/environmental degradation, monoculture, pollution, resource depletion, sweatshops, social injustice, wage-slavery/debt-slavery, etcetera, then that contract is null and void and a new one is sorely and quickly needed...

...Maybe we contract ourselves to where we leave the bullshit in the compost pile where it belongs.

"Control oil and you control the nations; control food and you control the people."
~ Henry Kissinger

"When Henry Kissinger was announced to be awarded the Peace Prize, two of the Norwegian Nobel Committee members resigned in protest."
~ Wikipedia

Agronomy

My suggestions for now or further out(no particular order):

Tanning and shoe-making.
Soil Science and Remediation
Electrical or Mechanical Engineering.
Carpentry, instrument maker, welder, machinist.
Visual/audio Entertainment like theater, traveling troops, busker.
Food production ie Animal husbandry, crop science, straight up farming and therefore running a business.

let's face it, the majority of the world's humans are not nearly as organized, talented, or plain smart as the lot of you. They haven't thought anything out thoroughly, and wish only for their next meal and favorite tv show...thus:

ditch digger

what can we do to assure as many of these people as possible live in relative health and dignity?

Perhaps most importantly, "is our children learning?" and how do we "put food on our family?"

mr. fixie

Snake Oil Salesman