Jan. 14, 2019—Self-driving and electric cars will help create more than 100,000 U.S. mobility industry jobs in the coming decade, including up to 30,000 jobs for engineers with degrees in computer-related subjects.
But the demand could be as much as six times the expected number of such graduates, exacerbating the industry's already significant talent shortage, according to research from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Detroit Mobility Lab (DML).
Over the next decade, the US mobility industry will need as many as 30,000 additional engineers with advanced-level skills just to work on self-driving and electric cars, and on smart-infrastructure innovations. Other emerging forms of mobility, including autonomous trucks and drones, could push the number of new positions even higher.
Unlike today's engineers who typically work on specific automotive components, such as engines or electronics, the interconnected nature of future automotive systems will require engineers who are cross-functional "tinkerers," who have a strong foundation in mathematics and physics; deep skills in artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, data sciences, and software; and a passion for cars.
Cars of the future will be very different from today's automobiles. By 2030, more than 20 percent of them will have plug-in hybrid or battery-powered electric engines, and more than 10 percent will be self-driving, excluding partially autonomous cars.
