What does energy in physics involve?
Per the UK national curriculum, the energy component of the KS4 national physics curriculum includes:
- Energy changes in a system involving heating, forces and electric currents
- Calculating the stored energy and energy changes, power as the rate of transfer and energy
- Conservation and dissipation of energy in a closed system
- Calculating energy efficiency for energy transfers
- The use of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources.
What careers are there within the energy sector?
If you’re interested in energy as a potential career path, you’ll be pleased to know that there are many career options within the field. Career opportunities include improving the efficiency of current technologies, developing cleaner energy sources, and being involved in the marketing of these products.
Renewable energy engineer
Renewable energy engineers work to produce renewable sources of energy that are clean, efficient and easily accessible. You’ll conduct research into the most cost-effective energy sources, decide the best location for energy generation, design equipment to collect energy sources and check site conditions for energy generators to be installed. Once clean energy is collected , you’ll work to supply this energy to our communities and homes.
Energy Consultant
Energy consultants help organisations to monitor their energy consumption, allowing them to ensure their energy provider is as cost-effective and efficient as possible. You’ll conduct research into the energy output of an organisation, and will advise managers on how they can ensure their energy consumption is efficient, reduce the cost of their utility bill, and meet environmental regulations. You can either be employed by a large organisation, or work freelance once you have a strong reputation in the field.
Nuclear energy
Nuclear energy currently provides a fifth of the UK’s electricity, with plans to increase this to a quarter by 2025. However, many nuclear reactors are no longer fit for purpose, and are set to close. Thus, the demand for scientists who can decommission (shut down) old nuclear reactors and construct and operate new ones is huge. Nuclear engineers decommission old nuclear reactors safely, while designing, building and troubleshooting new reactors. There are many opportunities to specialise further, for instance within health and safety and project management.