[Scott] Next on "Energy Switch," this season's Youth Voice episode looks at energy jobs.

- There's so many different opportunities that the energy industry can afford someone.

There's so many different career paths and there's so many different ways that you can really pursue your passion, whatever it may be.

[Scott] Yeah.

- We do something that's real important, it matters for you.

Someone will need to produce energy, no matter the type, it's needed.

We do things that few other industry can do and it's fun.

[Narrator] Coming up on "Energy Switch," young people weigh in on working in energy.

[Narrator] Funding for "Energy Switch" was provided in part by, The University of Texas at Austin, leading research in energy and the environment for a better tomorrow.

What starts here changes the world.

[upbeat music] - I'm Scott Tinker, and I'm an energy scientist.

I work in the field, lead research, speak around the world, write articles, and make films about energy.

This show brings together leading experts on vital topics in energy and climate.

They may have different perspectives, but my goal is to learn, and illuminate, and bring diverging views together towards solutions.

Welcome to the "Energy Switch."

Working in energy, particularly oil and gas is not as popular as it once was in the U.S. Petroleum engineering programs are shrinking and the industry is worried about a shortage of new talent.

Electricity and lower carbon energies are more readily embraced by young people.

I'll talk to two young talents who chose petroleum and electricity paths to see why they did so, how they found the experience, and if they'd recommend other young people seek jobs in energy.

Natan Battisti is a petroleum engineer trained in his native Brazil, working as a technical engineer and now Planning and Economics Advisor at Harbour Energy in London.

Maya Barwick is an Associate Program Specialist at ATC, which owns and operates an electric transmission network in the Midwest, and a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin.

On this "Energy Switch," we'll hear from bright young energy workers about their jobs in energy.

Let's just start off with why would our viewers, our listeners, even care if students go after jobs in the energy industry?

Why does that even matter?

- Well, I'd say energy is life, energy is economy.

We have today seven billion people in the world and still two billion people live in energy poverty.

So we need more engineers, geologists, people working in energy currently, in the present, but as well in the future.

- Yeah.

- So that's why everyone should and promote more and more students to go to these STEM fields in energy.

- Yeah, I love that.

Your thoughts Maya?

- Well, like you said, energy is something that all of us use nearly every single day.

And with my generation being extremely excited about the renewable energy transition, I think that the passion that my generation brings and the excitement paired with the knowledge of our more experienced colleagues perhaps already in the field, combining those two, I think collaboratively will help to solve one of the most important issues of our time essentially.

- Yeah, interesting.

What's your story?

How did you kind of end up here?

- I majored in environmental sciences and during my time at university, I interned with ATC.

I spent that time tracking federally endangered Karner blue butterflies on ATC's utility corridors.

They are really tiny.

They're only about this big and so we walked hundreds of miles of utility corridors looking for the butterflies and also the habitat that they rely on.

And then the result of that then impacts the construction processes by which ATC maintains their lines, their power transmission lines.

- So you did a summer job there and you're employed there full time now.

- Correct, yes.

So, when I was at ATC, I realized the kind of impact that the energy industry has and I realized the potential for positive environmental impact as well.

- So you feel okay working there?

- Yes, I do.

- Yeah.

- Yes, I do.

- Good for you.

What's your story?

- Well, I'm a farm boy, I was born in a small town in South Brazil and since early on I helped my parents in the farm and from early on I noticed how powerful was to have my dad's tractor 'cause that was the first thing I could see that could replace our hands at work, and that was powered by diesel.

Time passed by and I saw that farm was not definitely for me and I wanted to pursue university and what to do.

And one day I saw a big picture about an FPSO, you know, offshore in Brazil.

- FPSO is like a floating platform.

- Floating platform, yeah.

That's storage and offload the production.

[Scott] Okay.

- And when I saw that, I said, "I want be one of these men and women that go there for 15 days, produce energy that power the world."

And from my first class when I took a shale from carboniferous and I melted it, [Scott laughing] I said, "I'm in the right place in the right track to find more oil and gas that will power my dad's tractor and other homes and industries, et cetera.

- Interesting and...

So that, come back to you Maya, that mission of ATC, that sustainable energy future, did that influence your decision to go with them particularly or were there other options?

- Absolutely.

ATC's mission of connecting you to a sustainable energy future is really something that resonated with me, with my history as an environmentalist.

You know, how we generate our energy is a big part of mitigating climate change and I knew that the sustainable energy future is one that I wanted to be a part of.

- Yeah, it's interesting.

Were your peers, were they upset with you for going oil, gas business?

- I'd say, not my friends, but especially when I moved to Europe, yes.

When I was meeting my colleagues, I faced some questions and the first thing I always took as part of my role really to explain.

- Yeah.

- Currently 80% more or less of the energy consumption comes from fossil fuels still today.

And another thing that really helps to drive the conversation is when we look around and we see how many products can be produced from an oil barrel.

- Yeah, so they didn't- your generation or your peers didn't know that before, they hadn't heard that or?

- Pretty much, no.

- News to them, interesting.

How about your friends?

You went into the electric power business, did, as an environmentalist and environmental sciences major, did you get some grief for that or?

- Not particularly, no.

None of them were particularly upset with me for being in the energy industry.

If anything, they were curious about ATC, about what I do, about the different opportunities for an environmentalist like me within the industry.

And I think they were hopeful and they were excited that someone with my very strong environmental values was a part of this industry now.

- Yeah, 'cause you're inside, you bring your values, you can influence people that way.

- There's a lot of opportunities for growth.

[Scott] Yeah, yeah.

- Not only for yourself, but for the company as well.

- Right.

With your generation, is there a difference of opinions for oil and gas versus electricity or other sectors of the energy business?

- I think there are definitely mixed perceptions of the energy industry as a whole.

I think there are more negative perceptions of oil and gas.

One of the things that my generation thinks a lot about when it comes to oil is pollution and I think there are generally more positive perceptions of the renewable energy industry, especially with the emerging trends of the renewable energy transition and electric vehicles and the electrification of our homes and everything like that.

I think that's what my peers and that's what my generation is used to seeing.

- Yeah, how about you?

Do your friends see difference in different sectors of the energy industry?

- I try not to generalize, but it's when you face someone and discuss about energy in Europe and London, yeah, you are faced with the climate agenda as one of priorities.

- Right.

- But then I go back home, when I visit my friends in Southeast Asia or talk with my friends in Africa, the picture changes dramatically.

Because people still see the value of oil and gas, the value, even coal, for the country, for the economy, providing jobs, et cetera.

And I think the main reason for that is that priorities are different.

People still live in energy poverty and see energy poverty on a daily basis.

They see that if they can put diesel on the tractor, generate electricity from there and can study at home at the during the night or take a hot meal, they take value on that, and I think that changed perspective.

- Yeah, that's very interesting.

Are you worried that talent, people coming in or staying away from oil and gas, do you see that?

- So I would say that, yes.

When I look at Europe, London, and when I talk with my friends here in the U.S., I can see the uptake of petroleum engineer course, geology course, geophysics course are in the lowest level for quite a long time.

And that's quite worrying.

But in the other side, when I look to the other 70% of the world, the uptake is at the record.

So we have a lot more young professional and students now than we had 10, 15 years ago.

And I think that's because in terms of what really needs at the end of the day is a job that will help myself or help my family and my country.

So I can see a risk for the developed world in terms of labor, and not just engineers and geologists, but as well, technicians, people that will go and, and operate power plants because of this misconception about, oh, energy is bad or this is good and this is bad.

Everything has pros and cons.

- I visited the University of Petroleum in China, there are 50,000 students, so, alive and well.

And I thought, wow!

If this transition happens or doesn't happen quickly, [Scott laughing] that's where the talent's gonna come from.

- Are they coming?

- Some of those students you mean?

Yeah, they come to graduate school in the U.S. still, those who still have the programs, petroleum engineering is in fewer and fewer universities here.

- Yeah.

- How about you, Maya?

Do you see people staying away from the power sector or even broader energy or?

- So my peers mentioned that they would be more willing to work for a renewable energy firm compared to a fossil fuel one.

At ATC, we're seeing an increase in the number of natural gas generation facilities that want to come onto our electrical grid.

[Scott] Yeah.

- And some of our customers are even converting their coal generation facilities to natural gas generation facilities.

- Is that a good thing or?

- I can appreciate the fact that natural gas will play a very important role in the renewable energy transition, especially in the short and medium term.

And I also agree that energy security is a very important issue that the world needs to address.

But as far as my peers and where they're looking for jobs... - Yeah.

- It's mixed.

- Yeah, interesting.

But they're great jobs.

- I am not discouraging young people from going into jobs in the energy industry at all.

I think you can build a great career in the industry.

- Yeah, absolutely.

And as you said earlier, make a change from within and- - Exactly, it's a fantastic place to work in my opinion.

- Yeah.

You said earlier you're an environmentalist.

- Mm-hm.

- What does that mean?

What does that mean to you?

- Well, to me being an environmentalist is a very simple thing.

All it means for me is that the decisions that I make and the actions that I take are practical ways for me to lessen my impact on the environment.

And that's what it really comes down to at the end of the day.

- Personal impact.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

Does it co-exist?

Does this thought of environmentalism co-exist with energy?

- I think environmentalism can, and I think environmentalism absolutely should play a role in the energy industry.

I think if you have a passion for something and you're good at what you do, there is so much room to improve processes by which you operate, whether that be making them more efficient, making them more environmentally friendly.

Like the Karner blue butterflies on ATC's property, it's estimated that 40% of ATCs 10,000 miles may potentially serve as pollinator habitat which is really exciting for me to hear personally as well.

[Scott] That's very cool.

- So there are definitely ways by which we can make the world that we consume lots of energy in.

- Yeah.

- To be more environmentally friendly.

- How about same question over to you.

- I would say I'm a humanist.

So, first thing, I really take pride for lifting people from poverty.

Where is the cleanest air in the world is where the richest people live.

And where the richest people live is where you consume more energy.

The only way you can lift people from poverty is giving them access to reliable, secure, and affordable source of energy.

- It's kind of exciting in some ways.

I think you described it well, Natan, is coming out of poverty actually has other benefits including to the environment because you get wealth and that allows you to then do some things that you weren't doing if you're just trying to eat.

Where you go, do you have a favorite place in Wisconsin where it's like a big field or place you camp or hike or things, and would you be comfortable covering it in solar panels?

- There's a lot of great progress being made, especially at UW Madison with making sure that solar projects benefit not just the environment, but the people as well.

There's some great agrovoltaics projects happening right now.

So that's putting solar panels on agricultural fields that can also be used for agricultural products and things like that.

- So elevating them some.

- Exactly.

There's a lot of fantastic research going on to make sure that these solutions are not only environmentally friendly, but good for the economy and good for the society that depends on them as well.

- Right, same question over to you.

You grew up in Southern Brazil.

Would you be comfortable having a big pump jack working right next to your house every day?

- Not only would be comfortable as I'm trying to do that.

So hopefully you'll find natural gas in South Brazil at some point and you'll be able to put that.

I think it's really a balance kind.

We are in a region where we have a lot of dams for power hydroelectricity and that comes with its consequences.

So, my dad stopped to fishing where he used to because the river was diverted.

- Interesting, for hydro.

- What was the pros from that?

Now we get electricity at cheaper prices we used to have before.

It's more reliable, it's more accessible.

And I would say the same of oil and gas.

When this is done properly, how powerful is that to impact positively the society employing people nearby, creating value chains locally?

So I would be comfortable.

- Your friends, you mentioned talk a little bit about kind of a privilege, how it applies environmentalism.

What does that mean really?

- Well, I think this ties into our discussion earlier about poverty.

I would say that I have had a fairly privileged upbringing.

I was raised in a developed country where a lot of us take energy for granted.

I was raised by a family that provided very well for me and I was raised knowing that my education was a very strong priority.

It's because I've had these privileges that I have the time and the energy to devote to being a climate change advocate.

And it's because I've had these benefits that I also believe I have a responsibility to try and make the world around me a better place.

- When you think about the environment, is it all climate?

Is that primary in your head or how broadly do you think when you say environmentalism?

- When I think environment, the first thing I think of is climate change.

- Right?

- I also live in a country where we have like clean air and clean water and that's something that we take for granted.

- We do.

- So I think because we've also had the privileges of having these things that we're also more able to focus on climate change now as well because it's not something that we deal with in the immediate.

- Yeah, so Natan you volunteer for an organization kind of promotes science, technology, engineering.

Tell me about that a little bit.

- So I found passion in doing volunteering since early on once I started university because joining petroleum engineering course changed completely my life, and I found my purpose of generating energy, generating wealth in the place where I am working.

So most recently, we started a chapter for STEM ambassadors where companies promote STEM subjects in schools.

So we split our program in three things.

Promote stem, promote energy, and as well talked about oil and gas.

- Interesting.

- And all the careers you can have in this broad range.

Because how can you expect that one person will know about nuclear, oil, alternative energy, et cetera, et cetera, and plus a lot of different things.

So coming as industry and supporting it, it's also helpful.

We target unprivileged areas in London and it's so good to see someone coming and say, "Oh, I never thought of doing a career because no one told me that I could."

And then someone raised their hand, "I want to be a petroleum engineer, I want to be a geologist."

So that kind of pays that day.

- And ATC also recognizes that STEM education is extremely important.

We have a program right now with the Milwaukee Bucks actually called Math Hoops.

And the Bucks and ATC come together and serve children.

And so they can shoot hoops with the Milwaukee Bucks and they also learn about math and different STEM careers during that time too, and it's a lot of fun.

[Scott] That's awesome.

- Yeah.

- I love it.

You're also involved with Energy Efficiency Challenge at University of Wisconsin.

Tell me a little bit about that.

- Yes, so there's a competition there, it's called the Higher Education Kit Challenge.

It's a competition among Wisconsin colleges and universities aimed at promoting energy efficiency by providing free energy saving kits.

It's a Wisconsin statewide program that aims to educate residents and businesses about how they can improve energy efficiency within their own homes and businesses.

- That's awesome.

What are some of the big tips?

- For energy efficiency in general?

Well buy one of the kits that comes with energy efficient light bulbs and there's some that you can order with water efficient shower heads and things like that, as well as a window installation kit, which works really well for winter considering our winters get really, really cold.

- Yeah, right.

- A lot of people my age, a lot of young people are renters.

So there's not as much that we can do when it comes to efficiency, because in the end, it's the landlord making the decision about what kind of heat furnace they would like to use.

But efficiency is about what you can control.

- Right, right.

So you've been happy, you like your job?

- I really like my job.

There has been a lot of transparency from executives about the renewable energy transition and the changes that our company is going to go through within the next few years, which I really appreciate.

I'm surrounded by coworkers who really care about my personal and professional development which I've really appreciated.

And I've definitely been encouraged to work hard and be good at my job, but not put too much pressure on myself.

- Interesting.

A lot of us get caught up in those careers and- - But that was one of the reasons that I went into the energy industry was because I realized that it was a place where I could earn a good living and hopefully have a family someday as well.

- Yeah.

How about you Natan, you like it, happy with your job?

- Yeah, it fulfills me every day and I'm really happy to say that it was through the energy industry and specifically the oil and gas that I was able to leave a farm and visit many countries, make a lot of friends, and know a lot of stuff that I never thought about.

So it's really fulfill the purpose and that's something I tell to the kids when I go to schools.

- Right.

- Try to find something that will make you wake up every day in your life.

'cause once you find it, everything gets easier.

And I have had kind of a fast grown career, moved from technical to finance and commercial and I never thought I would be able to do that.

And thanks to energy and oil and gas, I'm here today.

- What would you say to students?

You've mentioned your friends a few times, but would you encourage friends and students to get into this business?

- I would absolutely encourage young people to consider and learn about a career in the energy industry.

getintoenergy.org is a fantastic site with a lot of great information about the different opportunities that there are- - getintoenergy.org.

- Yes, yes.

They have a lot of fantastic information.

There's so many different opportunities that the energy industry can afford someone.

There's so many different career paths and there's so many different ways that you can really pursue your passion, whatever it may be.

- Yeah, and it's not a bad paycheck either.

- It's a great way to earn a living.

- Friends, you tell them come on, it's fun or.

- Come and have fun.

- Yeah.

- Because, as I said, I see few industries elsewhere that can provide a career such as energy.

- Yeah.

- We do something that's really important, it matters for the world.

Someone need to produce energy, no matter the type, it's needed.

So we do things that are few other industry can do.

And it's fun, come on.

- It's a lot of pressure.

- It is a lot of pressure and it has its rewards, and it's a journey that you can travel multiple country.

You can work elsewhere and there is only one language along the industry, is the language to get the job done no matter where you are.

And I think that's quite unique from our, so I really encourage everyone to think about a career in STEM, a career in energy and in oil and gas.

- What final thoughts would you like to leave with listeners from your perspective, Natan?

- Everything has its pros and cons and that's all about that energy.

So when you see something, some place and some newspaper, try to counter argument that, try to see the other side.

Try to see outside of the bubble because everyone has its own bubble.

[Scott] Right.

- And if you try to put yourselves in the shoes of those that don't have access to reliable, affordable, and secure source of energy, you see that priorities are different.

[Scott] Wise thoughts.

So thank you for sharing those, Maya?

- I would just encourage young people to join the energy industry.

Energy is so interwoven into our daily lives and something that a lot of us do take for granted, especially here.

But it's an energy where we can build a career, earn a good living, and if you'd like to, you can really make a difference in what you do.

- Yeah, well my final thought is with both of you in it, I feel a lot better.

So thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Appreciate that.

- I enjoyed the visit lot.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Natan, Scott Tinker at "Energy Switch".

Natan, like many young people I've met from developing countries, has personal experience with the benefits of fossil fuels and weighs those benefits more than their environmental challenges.

For Maya, like many young people I've met from wealthy countries, energy's environmental issues are paramount and that influenced her job choice.

Even though, as she recognized, living in a rich society where energy is readily available affords her the privilege to care about the environment.

Both my guests were passionate and enthusiastic about their jobs.

They're inspired by providing energy to society and by the opportunity to be a force for positive change from within an industry that pays well and allows time to raise a family.

All good reasons they feel other young people may want to explore jobs in energy.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [Narrator] Funding for "Energy Switch" was provided in part by The University of Texas at Austin, leading research in energy and the environment for a better tomorrow.

What starts here changes the world.