Category Archives: Smart Water Grid

Cyber Security Jobs Ramp Up For Future Cyber Attacks

The purpose of this article to alert jobs seekers to potential jobs. It is no way a promotion or endorsement of any type of cyber attack or crime. 

Military Shifts Focus  to Cyber Security Jobs And Warfare

Wall Street Journal reporter Julian Barnes  recently wrote an article titled “ Pentagon Digs In on Cyberwar Front where he talks about how the military and the rest of the federal government is building its cyber security and warfare capabilities. This build up is in response to a number of  recent cyber attacks against the government agencies and critical parts of our country’s infrastructure. It is also a response to the emerging ” Cyber Militias” springing up in countries across the world who are engaging in unsanctioned attacks on other countries. ( See article State of Cyber Warfare Threat).

Why You Should Know This Information

In this era of budget cuts and recessions, fast growing, well paying jobs are important to everyone. Many of us know someone who is unemployed or underemployed who is looking to better their career. These jobs may not be for everyone but the knowledge that they are coming is a good thing. Here is something else you should know:

After the Stuxnet Incident, a US News & World Report article reported that the ”federal government may have to hire up to 10,000 cyber security analysts and the private sector thousands more.” Couple this information with the purported $14 Billion of investment in Smart grid cyber security, the job market for cyber security will be robust for years to come.

 

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The 6 Hottest Job Areas In Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering Will Be Hot Over the Next Few Years

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov), the Civil Engineering profession is expected to grow over 25% over the next decade. Our nation’s infrastructure (energy grid, roads, bridges, water treatment systems, mass transit including airports, levees and dams) is falling apart and poses a threat to our safety and economy. Government officials, desperate to create jobs,  are focusing harder on ways to fix and upgrade the infrastructure. In this series of posts we will cover the areas of civil engineering where we see present and future growth.

Here are the Up And Coming Areas of Civil Engineering we will cover over our series of posts.

  1. Ports, Harbors & Off Shore Facilities
  2. Storm Water & flood Mitigation
  3. Dams & Levees
  4. Power Grid & Pipeline Infrastructure
  5. Transportation
  6. Drinking & Wastewater Infrastructure

Why You Will Benefit From These Posts

The main reason job seekers will benefit from reading these posts is that large scale and long term civil engineering projects tend to create additional local jobs in their “ripple effect”. For example: The metro Atlanta area is voting on a $6 billion transportation bill to alleviate its major congestion problems. Projects like these could produce  hundred or thousands of jobs in the following indusries:

  • Construction & labor Staffing
  • Construction equipment
  • Concrete/asphalt & aggregate
  • Restaurants & food stores (These people do eat lunch)
  • Banking & retail
and many more.
We will cover these details of how civil engineering projects create job growth more in depth as we go along.

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Natural Gas Cyber Attack Confirms $14 Billion Investment In Cyber Security Jobs

 My goal is to make the job seeking public aware that problems like cyber attacks can  lead  to job opportunities. Links are provided to allow the reader to read the original information.

Cyber Attack : A Real Threat To Infrastructure

In March of 2012 Pike Research, a marketing and research firm issued a report“Smart Grid Cyber Security” where they discussed the $14 Billion investment needed in smart grid cyber security in the utilities sector. Here is a quote from that report that should widen your perspective on why this level of investment is needed:

“As some technologies, such as smart metering, near a decade of thought and deployment, the approach to cyber security has become more thoughtful. One thing, unfortunately, has not changed: cyber security is still way behind the attackers.”- Pike Research Senior Analyst Bob Lockhart

Natural Gas Pipeline Cyber Attack Shows Problems & Opportunity

In May 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  revealed  that hackers have made a concerted effort to attack natural gas supply controls systems. ABCNews and FOXDC  both reported  the attackers allegedly used social media, e-mail and other websites to target employees and lure them into divulging passwords to critical systems and sensitive information. My regular readers know that I have written about the emergence and importance of cyber security jobs before but now I want to reinforce how these jobs are more critical than ever. Here is why:

  •  It has been widely reported that utility companies may not have all of people and resources needed to avert future cyber attacks. 
  • Hackers are using more sophisticated methods to attack infrastructure related systems.
  • As the smart grid build out continues, security will be a constant need

To get ahead of this threat, government agencies such as the FBI, DOD, technology, utility and energy companies are positioning themselves to hire hundreds (if not thousands) of computer security analysts and engineers. Some major colleges and universities like University of Maryland -Baltimore County (UMBC) have developed specific degree programs which are recognized by top employers.

 What You Need to Do

If you are an IT professional or job seeker here are some tips that could help your career:

  1. Find out more information on the CISSP certification, job skills and training you need to qualify for these opportunities
  2. Find out which colleges and universities offer degrees and classes for this field
  3. Subscribe to credible resources which provide the latest information on industry trends
  4. Attend conferences and networking groups to meet other professionals who can open doors to the “Hidden Job Market”
Thanks for reading. We look forward to your comments.

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Water: A Well Spring of Hot New Jobs

Water:  A Source of Jobs

Alabama, Florida and Georgia are in court fighting over it. Western States like Arizona, Colorado and California have a shortage of it. It has caused millions of dollars of damage in the Midwest.  What is it? -Water. Clean water is a hot issue across the US because it is essential life and our economy. Many areas of the US are struggling to find more sources of water to meet the demand of their growing populations. Yet most job seekers are unaware of the potential jobs available in protecting this vital resource. Here are some reasons why job seekers should consider a career in the water industry:

  1. High Number of Job Openings: Like other utility companies, water companies and engineering consultants are faced with a large number of retirements in their engineering, operations and maintenance ranks. This exodus is not just a loss of numbers but also a loss of institutional knowledge (Knowledge Capital). They will need well trained people to step into the open positions.
  2. High Investment Potential: It is well publicized that our country’s water infrastructure needs at least $ 1 trillion dollars of investment to get it modern standards. While this level of investment will not happen at once, governments, water authorities and politicians know the work needs to be done and projects will create well paying jobs. One of the hottest areas of water jobs will be flood and storm water management.
  3. Increased Regulations: Believe or not, increased regulatory standards are good in some cases because they provide standards to protect the water supply from potential threats such as terrorism and pollution. The water industry is also entering into “Smart Grid” technology with the deployment of high tech water meters and quality monitors.
  4. Low numbers of trained professionals: The retirements of “baby boomers” will leave a wealth of job opportunities but a dearth of knowledge in some geographic areas. Trained and experienced water professionals who choose to move into the areas will have good prospects for jobs.

 What You Should Do For Your Water Job

  1. Investigate the water industry for career opportunities on H2Opportunity website especially  water treatment plant operator
  2. Research at the vast array of companies in the water industry across the Internet
  3. Look at the American Water Works Association (AWWA) website
  4. Read the articles below
  5. Subscribe to Hinton Human Capital

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How the WikiLeaks Threat Affects Green, Environmental, Infrastructure Security Jobs

The WikiLeaks story has drawn a lot of attention to the vulnerability of countries and companies to cyber attacks and espionage. CNN recently published an article entitled ” WikiLeaks lists sites key to U.S. security – CNN.com“ which stated that WikiLeaks possessed a list of  key resources and infrastructure which are vital to US national and economic security. It is frightening to think about a situation where a more malicious type of organization could have access to the plans, specifications and computer systems of our national infrastructure. My intent in writing about this situation is not to raise fears but to share that companies in the green, environmental and infrastructure industries are recruiting and training more people to protect our infrastructure from terrorism, natural disaster and cybersecurity issues.

Why You Should Care About WikiLeaks and Our Infrastructure

Our country is ‘in the process of moving to the “Smart” era where data from the energy, environmental, water, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure will be linked to vast networks of sensors, servers and data centers (Networked SCADA).  These networks will feed information to a host of apps on SMART devices and computers in government offices, our homes, industrial/manufacturing complexes, utilities and other facilities. The media reported how the credit card companies sites were attacked. A group of “Hackivists” attacking any portion of these infrastructure related networks could pose serious danger to hundreds or even thousands of people. (see my article “What makes Smart Grid Cybersecurity A Green Job” or the movie “Live Free or Die Hard).  The critical issues for the government, utilities and other infrastructure owners is recruiting and hiring competent professionals to handle these threats.

Infrastructure Industries that are expanding their Cyber Security

  1. Intelligent Transportation Systems(Transportation): Did you know that our traffic signals and traffic control systems in major cities like New York and Atlanta  are on large computer networks? Since many governments still control these the systems, it is very important that they have the professionals in place to ensure their networks are safe. A major beach could lead to thousands of accidents and serious gridlock. 
  2. Electrical Utilities: The electric utilities are deploying SMART meters which are part of large Wide Area Networks. Security experts have already detailed the amount of damage a hacker could do if they got into an energy related computer network.  (See This CNN article). The federal government and the utility industry are working hard on security protocols but the major problem is find the people to fill the new jobs. 
  3. Water/Wastewater Treatment Systems: Believe or not the water/sewer systems in your town are part of a high-tech system. Many water treatment facilities have computer networks which control all of their vital functions. Like the electrical industry, the water companies are deploying Smart Technology and they too are in need of more cyber security professionals.  Water treatment plants have been hacked in the past and the impact of an attack could be a huge environmental disaster ( See Water Plant Hacked) 

What You Should Do

If you have an information technology or computer programming background, consider becoming a cybersecurity professional who focuses on the infrastructure related industries. You will find that the opportunities will be strong for a long time.

Other Links

Smart Grid Cybersecurity Means New Green IT Jobs

Billions Spent On Cybersecurity