After years of downsizing, outsourcing, and relatively cheap energy, international events and high fuel prices have once again focused interest on energy management as a profession.
Energy Management vs. Energy Services
"Energy management" has several meanings unrelated to controlling end usage of energy through operations and/or equipment alterations. To narrow down jobs in that field range from sales of products and services that use or control energy use, to operating and maintaining such products/services, engineering those systems, analyzing and specifying energy use and control options, and providing information related to energy use and control options (e.g., a government energy office, or lab). To narrow down the field, start by reading "Energy Services Careers" (free at www.ateec.org/publ/energy_book.pdf).
Potential advancement may hold interest, although only 51% in the AEE survey thought they were positioned for it. Anecdotal evidence suggests that those moving up do so by instead adding credentials (e.g., MBA) which open doors to upper management or other departments, or else they start their own firms.