During last year’s presidential campaign, then-Candidate Trump vowed to “build the next generation of roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, sea ports and airports that our country deserves.” Last month, Elaine Chao, secretary of transportation, revealed now-President Trump’s timetable for that infrastructure plan, which now looks to be on the order of $1 trillion: “May or late-May.”
No one ever accused the president of being too disciplined in his messaging, but for all the zigs and zags of his four months in office, he has been steadfast in promising to rebuild American infrastructure. Because President Trump has spent his life in construction, it seems likely that he has, perhaps, a nuanced understanding of this issue, and regardless of how one feels about the president, he is right: The United States is in dire need of an infrastructure renovation. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the nation’s infrastructure a D+.
A trillion dollars is serious business, and serious businesses are now considering the possibilities—a big reason for the Trump-era market rally. If you’re on the job hunt and your skills align with what’s in the offing, here is what an investment in infrastructure might mean for you.
Airport Jobs
President Trump compared American airports with those in third world countries. Spend five minutes at La Guardia and you realize almost immediately that he has a point. If his infrastructure plan is successful, revitalized American airports will mean everything from more power outlets for charging your phone to expanded terminals accommodating additional planes (and thus fewer delays). It means upgraded runways and better ground radars. The aerospace industry is a direct beneficiary of better airports, and ClearanceJobs is laden with jobs related to airports, airlines, runways, and air traffic control.
Giving Roadways an Upgrade
In a world of cyber-this and virtual-that, there’s nothing sexy about paving roads, and yet the success of one of the hottest technologies around absolutely depends on a major highway upgrade. Autonomous vehicles—the sort built by Tesla and Google—work best with nice, bright lines on nice, clean roads. It goes beyond even traditional highways, though. The proliferation of autonomous vehicles will herald a re-pavement of the information superhighway as well, as all those connected cars will work best with upgraded wireless infrastructure. Autonomy is huge in the cleared contractor world, in the sea, through the air, and on the ground. Experience developing or maintaining autonomous vehicles makes you (or will make you) invaluable to the defense and automotive industries. An expanded job market will get you the experience you need or the salaries you want.
Energy Upgrade in the Nick of Time
Whether it’s developing renewables, protecting nuclear, or just maintaining the existing grid, the energy sector is poised for a massive infusion of dollars—and not a moment too soon. Most power lines were built to last 50 years. The problem is that they were constructed in the 1950s. It doesn’t take a mathematician to see that something’s going to give, and when it does, we’d better have a lot of candles ready. The Department of Energy and associated contractors have long been a big part of the clearance workforce. With, according to ASCE, “640,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in the lower 48 states’ power grids” at “full capacity,” this country needs an energy infrastructure investment quickly. From pipelines to solar, when energy jobs come, many will come with a security clearance requirement.
Dams and Levees
When people lament that we don’t build anything big anymore, they’re not wrong: the average age of American dams is 56 years. There are 90,580 dams in the United States today, and 17% have been rated as “high hazard” by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The state of levees won’t make you feel much better. Their average age is 50. Two-thirds of Americans live in a county with at least one levee, and the conditions of America’s 30,000 miles of levees are largely unknown. (A sample of U.S. levees that the ASCE studied revealed that 20% were either moderate or high risk.) If you hold a security clearance and have the requisite training, there’s a good chance you can find a job related to waterway infrastructure, whether it’s defending them as part of homeland security, or building them at home and abroad. With infrastructure investment on the way, the number of positions available will only grow.
President Trump and Democrats in Congress don’t share much common ground, which makes infrastructure improvements the rare area where progress might be swift and decisive. A recent Gallup poll reveals that 69% of Americans consider it “very important” that the president keep his promise to rebuild infrastructure—the most-approved item on his agenda, by far. The decay of our roads, airports, bridges, and railways can no longer be ignored. Whether it’s analysis, security, or implementation, you might soon be part of the expanded job market that comes with a repaved America.
