Career prospects
On this page you will find information about possible career prospects for both academic and non-academic careers. Many of graduates from the Energy Science programme go on to find employment in research.
Academic careers
The Energy Science Master’s prepares students for a PhD programme, which will ultimately lead to professions in scientific research. Graduates of the programme must be capable of writing a PhD dissertation.
Alumni Stories
- Floor van der Hilst, Energy and Resources group of the Copernicus Institute, Utrecht University
“Working for the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development of Utrecht University, which is one of the world leading institutes on this topic, enables me to do high quality sustainability research with experts of various disciplines. My work consists of both research and education. As a researcher I coordinate multiple international research projects on sustainability of bioenergy and supervise several PhD candidates and junior researchers in their research. As a teacher in the Energy Science master, I teach about current and future sustainability challenges related to the energy and resource system and equip students with multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills to deal with these complex problems in their future professions.”
Non-academic careers
The sustainable development of energy systems will be one of the main global challenges of this new century. Many companies are taking up the challenge to develop new business in this area and there is a great demand for energy and resources specialists, which is increasing every day. Research institutes, businesses, consultancy firms, government organisations, and NGOs are active in the quest for energy efficiency improvement and more renewable energy sources. Energy Science graduates have found jobs like Portfolio Manager, Junior Scientist, Advisor and Presale Engineer at:
Alumni Stories
- Oskar Meijerink, Project Leader Future Fuels, SkyNRG
“Energy Science offers a very good basis. During the study, students are prepped to ultimately ensure the implementation of new technology in business. The cliché that you can make the link between technology and business within a company has definitely rang true. Ultimately, it is not so much about the subjects you are taught, but more about the academic way of thinking and analyzing. When you start your first job that way of thinking really helps you acquire the specific professional knowledge you need.”
Career development
Academic and professional knowledge and skills
After having completed the Master's programme in Energy Science, you will:
- Have technical and natural scientific knowledge on how society produces and uses energy
- Have knowledge on the consequences of energy production and use for people, the economy, the environment and future generations
- Be familiar with the most important research methods for energy system analysis and can apply these methods in research on energy and material systems.
- Be able to design strategies to make energy systems sustainable and place those in a multidisciplinary context.
- Be able to conduct new interdisciplinary research on energy systems at various scales (micro, regional, national and international) in a creative and independent way
- Be able to work in a multidisciplinary setting and communicate research results and conclusions to a public of specialist and non-specialists.
- Have insight in the science-society interface and be able to reflect critically upon the roles of science and technology in society.
UU Career Services
UU Career Services offers training related to career orientation and job application skills; examples include writing an application letter and CV and conducting a job interview. You can find more information about career support on UU Career Services for Dutch students or UU Career Services for international students.
UU Careers Day
Once a year Utrecht University organises a Careers Day. The Careers Day offers the opportunity to sign up for workshops and trainings, and to meet recruiters at the careers fair. It’s also possible to join a job application training or have your resume checked.