The basic industries field offers a potential career path for bootcamp graduates as it’s a vital sector of the United States economy. Currently, over a million establishments in the US are classified as basic industries employing over 15 million workers.
- Companies in the basic industries field include Cargill, Newmont, Dow, ExxonMobil, and Duke Energy.
- Basic industries companies specialize in producing and supplying raw materials and services that manufacturers use to produce final consumer goods.
- Basic industry companies also provide machinery, equipment, and capital goods to manufacturers instead of consumers.
- In the United States, basic industries field is spread across multiple sectors, such as building and construction materials, paper and packaging production, metals and mining, and agricultural inputs and mechanization.
- Basic industries companies always search for techies to work on automation, system designs, data science, and low-level programming.
As modernization of the manufacturing processes kicks into high gear, there’s a greater need to procure more computerized systems. This has created an insatiable demand for technical skills in automation, digital systems design, and manufacturing technology expertise.
Read on to discover some of the possible career lines in basic industries field that a tech graduate can pursue.
What are Basic Industries?
Companies in the basic industries field provide energy sources and raw materials essential in producing final goods. These companies provide raw materials and services to other industries instead of consumers.
Most basic industries companies are concerted [in extracting and refining natural resources such as minerals, crude oil-based products, metals, and edible crops.
Are there tech jobs in the basic industries companies?
Basic industries are labor intensive and often require a diverse range of workers ranging from laborers to technical personnel and IT technicians. The demand for tech jobs in basic industries field heavily relies on the level of computerization in the production process.
Companies in basic industries field often require computer systems analysts to keep track of computer systems performance. Computer engineering skills essential to production are also in high demand as companies seek to analyze and assess their production needs and design custom solutions.
Types of Companies in the Basic Industries Field
Mining companies
The mining sector in the United States generated over $100 billion in revenue and employed over 140,000 workers in 2015. The US mining industry is mainly concerned with the extraction of gold, copper, platinum, silver, sulfur, and phosphate. Construction materials such as gravel, industrial sand, and cement also make up a significant contribution to the sector.
Mining companies are investing heavily in technology to cut down on the environmental impact of their activities and to reduce operating costs.
the entire industry is always on the hunt for AI engineers who work on artificial intelligence solutions that analyze data to improve efficiency and safety are in high demand.
Automation experts and -programming engineers that work in advancements in automated technologies are also needed in the mining sector.
Agriculture industry
The United States agricultural sector includes a wide range of farm-related companies and farming businesses focusing on producing raw foods. The agriculture sector comprises food services, beverages, leather and textile, fishing, and farms. With an annual GDP contribution of over $1 trillion, the agriculture sector is one of the major backbones of the US economy.
As of 2020, more than 20 million workers were fully and partly employed in the agricultural sector, with a significant percentage of them in the food and drinks services.
The basic industry has an insatiable demand for tech jobs in AI and automation, database management, system design, robotics, and data analytics.
Oil and gas companies
The United States is among the top global crude oil and natural gas producers in the oil and gas industry. In 2019 the oil industry produced 4.47 billion barrels of crude oil. The oil and gas basic industry supports over 9 million jobs in the United States and contributes over 9% of the annual GDP.
Most of the companies in these basic industries are vertically integrated with operations both in the extraction, refinement, and marketing of petroleum products.
The services companies in the oil and gas industry are data-driven, thus creating a significant demand for tech jobs. These provide specialized services such as seismic surveys and well logging.
Oil and gas basic industries are always searching for data scientists, machine learning experts, robotics, and AI engineers. Exploration services also require information scientists to work on remote sensing devices, satellite communication, and 3D/4D seismic technologies.
Chemical industry
Chemical industries manufacture a wide range of chemicals that other industries require. The crucial basic industry is spread across food and water supply, clothing, shelter, health care, transportation, computer technology, and a whole load of related basic industries.
The chemicals basic industries sector contributes around 2% of the United States GDP and employs over 5 million workers.
Significant demand for tech jobs in the chemical industry lies in the research and development roles. These companies spent approximately $55 billion on R&D.
Computer engineers, data scientists, information scientists, and AI and machine learning engineers are some of the prestigious basic industries jobs in the chemical basic industries.
Energy Companies
Energy companies in the basic industries field are involved in the production and sale of energy to other industries. These companies are spread across multiple energy production sectors, such as fossil fuel, electricity generation, nuclear power, and renewable energy industries.
As the global markets increasingly adopt newer technologies in the production of energy to cut down on adverse effects on the environment, these industries must rely on technology. This, in turn, creates a huge demand for tech jobs. Top on this list is data analysts, information technology infrastructure analysts, AI and ML engineers, and data scientists.
Paper and pulp industry
The United States has over 450 paper mills producing more than 100 million tons of paper products. The industry consists of pulp mills, paper mills, and paperboard mills. As of 2020, the sector had a market value of $34 billion and employed more than 50,000 workers.
The United States produces more than 9 million metric tons of graphics papers, 7 million metric tons of household and sanitary papers, and half a million tons of newsprint.
As paper and pulp basic industries seek to automate their manufacturing processes, they are always on the lookout for automation engineers, ML and data analytics experts, software developers, and integrated computing systems designers.
Companies in the Basic Industries Field Offering Technology Jobs
International Paper
International Paper and Pulp industry is one of the world’s largest fiber-based product manufacturers. The firm deals with the production of packaging products that are sold as raw materials to goods manufacturers and pulp that’s sold to diaper manufacturers.
International Paper basic industries produce goods that support various segments of the economy, such as e-commerce, processed foods, beverages industries, and pharmaceuticals.
International Paper relies heavily on technology to deliver innovative technical solutions in packaging. The basic industries firm offers basic industries jobs that pay well, such as IT business analysts, network architecture, data scientists, equipment reliability analysts, application development specialists, and global settlement technology analysts.
Tech basic industries jobs offered in tech:
- PLC programmer
- IT business analysts
- Azure network architecture
- Data scientists
- Mill application developers
Dow
Dow is an American chemical and materials manufacturer with over 125 years leading in materials science. The basic industries firm manufactures products that are used in all key industries ranging from agriculture to personal care and construction infrastructure.
Dow basic industries products mainly center on adhesives, foam, plastic, and silicone products.
Dow offers a wide range of career lines in technology with the possibility of remote work and collaboration in exciting feature products.
Tech jobs offered:
- IT infrastructure analyst
- Process automation engineers
- Analytical technologist
- AI and ML experts
- Data scientists
ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil is a global chemical and energy innovation firm with diverse stakes in the oil and gas industry. On top of being a global chemical and petroleum manufacturer, the basic industries company is also involved in payment solutions.
ExxonMobil relies on IT solutions to power its innovations and operates its businesses optimally. The firm relies on analytics and enterprise system applications to automate its strategies and operations.
Tech jobs offered:
- Front-end and back-end developers
- Quality assurance
- User experience designers
- Database developers
- IT systems architects
Cargill
Cargill is a global agricultural-focused firm with 155 years in business and currently operates in over 70 countries. The basic industries company has over 155,000 employees working in the bio-industrial, food ingredients, animal nutrition raw materials, metals, and shipping industries field.
The basic industries company has a diverse value chain that it leverages to keep its business partners stocked on vital goods and raw materials while providing actionable insight into global supply chains.
Cargill’s research and development arm rely on scientific expertise and its global knowledge in various markets to improve process efficiencies and discover first-to-market innovations. As a result, the firm has a massive appetite for basic industries jobs ranging from technical services to application development and scientific research.
Tech jobs offered:
- Software engineering
- Data analysts
- Full stack developers
- UX developers
- Marketing cloud analysts
Newmont Mining Corp
Newmont mining corporation is the world’s largest zinc, copper, silver, and gold producer. The basic industries company has significant stakes in its portfolio spread out across North America, Africa, Australia, and South America.
Newmont mines range from the surface to underground and open pits, with over 31,000 employees worldwide.
Newmont plans to invest over $500 million in renewable energy as part of its diversification drive away from the traditional mining industry. This and other modernization projects have created new tech-based jobs in the company, from developers to data analytics.
Tech jobs offered:
- IT infrastructure technicians
- Autonomous systems engineers
- Low-level programming developers
Duke Energy
Duke Energy is the largest electricity producer in the United States, with an estimated 58,200 megawatts peak generation capacity. Most of its generation comes from natural gas and nuclear power plants.
Duke Energy owns subsidiaries in the renewable energy sector, specializing in developing and operating generation facilities. These include wind generation, hydroelectric and pumped-storage hydro. As a result, the company has a vast appetite for tech labor, and they are always onboarding new talent in IT workstation support, computer engineers, machine learning, and AI experts.
Tech jobs offered:
- Computer engineering
- Machine learning and Ai experts
- Information technology technicians
- full stack developers
Frequently Asked Questions
How many jobs are available in the United States?
According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in tech occupations is expected to grow by 13% yearly, adding about 667,000 new jobs.
What are the most sought-after tech skills in the basic industries field?
Most sought-after-tech skills in basic industries revolve around cloud computing, information security, automation, and big data collection and analysis.
What is the average annual wage for tech occupations in the basic industries?
According to a BLS report, the average wage in computer and IT occupations as of 2021 is $97,430.
What are the highest paying tech jobs in the basic industries?
The highest-paid tech jobs in basic industries are information research scientists and computer network architects, followed by computer programmers and information security analysts.
What basic industries companies offer a good technology career path?
All major basic industry companies rely on technology, and they often have to hire graduates providing a good technology career path. These include ExxonMobil, Dow, Cargill, and Newmont, among others. Most of these companies offer straightforward promotion paths.
What are the benefits of working in basic industries?
Basic industries offer a stable and straightforward career path for tech graduates with the added benefit of a good salary with benefits. As the economy grows, it creates a demand for more products so does the basic industries segment, thus providing solid job security.
What are examples of companies in the basic industries field?
The basic industry comprises agriculture, mining, forestry, and oil and gas companies. Agriculture companies in the United States are involved in the production of corn, soy, and wheat. The category also includes vegetable farms and fruit orchards that sell their produce to processing companies instead of consumers. The min9ngi sector deals with extracting and refining raw materials such as iron and steel, while the forestry field majors in logging.
How can I get a tech job in basic industries?
You will need to research the available tech jobs in basic industries by visiting sites such as glassdoor.com and monday.com or each company’s career websites. Most companies will also advertise open positions on Linkedin and other social media sites.
What are the most accessible tech jobs in the basic industries field?
It’s easy to secure an entry-level tech job in basic industries as not many graduates opt to work in this sector. However, promotions to higher positions will require you to prove that you are essential and have the proper credentials to back you up.
Conclusion
Companies in the basic industries field provide essential services and raw materials to manufacturers, contributing a significant chunk of the GDP. These companies are concentrated on extracting raw materials in the mining, agriculture, and chemical sectors.
As the decade progresses, basic industries will continue recruiting more tech-focused workers to keep up with technological changes. Most basic industries jobs pay well, and they may include flexible working hours.