To support IET graduates, this section of the Website will periodically publish reports on the employment outlook and opportunities in the environmental field. A number of employment agencies, temporary services and recruiters will be contributing.

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), Interfaith Training and Employment Project (ITEP) and others will be offered space for announcements regarding potential job placement and continuing education opportunities which may arise.

IET also provides continuing technical support for each IET graduate as well as for the large faculty and the many friends of IET in the Houston area and elsewhere by making available a comprehensive source of information (see IET's Resource page as well as via the new IET Bookstore).

Dateline: April 15, 2003
Houston, Texas

The employment market remains spotty, sluggish, and bottom driven. There are job opportunities for technicians, staff and project-level professionals, but few jobs for true senior and corporate-level professionals as a result of corporate consolidations and mergers.

Graduates of the IET program continue to do well in finding employment in the Houston area and elsewhere. As they gain experience, they are also improving salary levels and moving into managerial positions. Once connected in the network, they are finding that when one door closes another opens, somewhere in the environmental field. They are also finding that job security does not exist, at least for the time being.

The employment outlook will remain sluggish in the Houston, Texas area, at least, as long as the Federal regulators languish in political turmoil. If the regulators do not regulate, then the regulated need do nothing but business as usual.

ERM-SW remains busy, still.

Harding Lawson Associates( HLA) has been acquired by Mactec.

Mactec has also acquired Environmental Science and Engineering.

On February 15, 2002, LAW Companies Group, Inc. and MACTEC, Inc. finalized the merger which was announced on November 20, 2001. Effective 01-01-03, Law Companies no longer exists, known as MACTEC Engineering & Consulting and are consolidated in the old Law office on Guhn Road. Reportedly, Law sold the building and MACTEC, HLA, and LAW are now all in the "new" half of the "old" building that they are leasing from the new owner of the building.

The IT Group purchased OHM first in ~1998, then Fluor GTI in ~1999, and Emcon in ~2000. In May 2002, the Shaw Group bought IT out of Chapter 11 for $105 million ($52.5 million in cash and 1.67 million shares of Shaw Common Stock and the assumption of certain liabilities) and formed Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc

URS Corporation has expanded with the acquisition of Greiner Engineering in 1996, Woodward-Clyde Group in 1997, UK-based Thorburn Colquhoun in 1998, and Dames & Moore Group in 1999. The Dames & Moore Group was comprised of a number of engineering, construction services and environmental organizations, including the original Dames & Moore company, Radian International & Dow Environmental Inc, BRW, O'Brien Kreitzberg, and Walk Haydel. More recently, URS acquired EG&G Technical Services bringing
URS to 25,000 employees in 300 offices in 20 countries.

Brown & Root Environmental has allegedly been sold to Tetra Tech (who have since been purchased by Duke Engineering).

Note: additional input from our readers is encouraged.

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