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When researching the size of the electric vehicle market, a wide variety of numbers come up. For example, The Street cites a report from Market Research Future, which states that the electric car market was worth $208.95 billion last year and could more than quadruple to $957.42 billion in a little more than eight years.

On the other hand, Statista places a faster timeline for growth, estimating that the global EV market was worth $260.63 billion in 2020 and will be worth more than $1 trillion by 2026. Kilows, an emerging company in the ultrafast EV charging space, estimates that the market will be worth $1 trillion in 2025.

However, despite the wide array in current market sales numbers, one trend is clear: no matter how big the EV market is now, it's growing rapidly.

Two different outlooks for employment in the EV market

Where there's rapid growth in sales, there could also be rapid growth in jobs. However, the big question is whether that growth will come in the U.S. or abroad. In one scenario set forth by the Economic Policy Institute, the U.S. EV market could lose about 75,000 jobs by 2030, but in another, the industry could add about 150,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

It's important to think about employment in the EV industry on a short-term and long-term basis. In the short term, employment in the auto industry will explode as automakers add workers to deal with the fact that consumers are buying both gas-powered and electric vehicles.

On the other hand, in the long term, as EVs replace gas-powered vehicles, there is a risk that employment in the auto industry will shrink because EVs require fewer moving parts than their gas-powered peers.

However, the U.S. government could take some actions to ensure that the EV market brings about long-term employment growth in addition to the short term. For example, the Biden administration has earmarked $5 billion over five years for a national EV charging network. These funds will create jobs for construction workers and technicians with the skills to construct, maintain, and continually update EV charging stations with the newest technology.

In fact, building charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is such a high priority for the Biden administration that the president mentioned it in his State of the Union speech. Additionally, some workers in the traditional auto market could find new employment in the EV market, although some retraining might be required, especially for those who find positions in the EV charging infrastructure industry.

Types of jobs in the EV industry

Many automakers, including General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen, have pledged to stop selling gas- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040 or earlier, switching entirely to electric vehicles. As a result, autoworkers and others interested in working in the industry would do well to consider how they might find employment in an all-electric future for vehicles.

On average, gas-powered vehicles have about 30,000 components, while electric vehicles use about half as many. Additionally, it takes about 10 people to produce the fuel-injection unit for a gas-powered vehicle, but it only takes one person to build an electric motor.

Another report indicates that the powertrain in a Chevy Bolt has 80% fewer moving parts than one used in a comparable vehicle powered by gasoline, while Ford (F) estimated that EVs use about 30% fewer parts than gas-powered vehicles. Volkswagen (VWAGY) CEO Herbert Diess said two and a half years ago that EVs will require about 30% less labor than gas-powered vehicles.

Thus, it's clear why so many people are worried about job loss in the auto industry amid the shift to EVs. However, in some cases, those lost jobs will be replaced by different jobs. For example, each battery in an electric vehicle contains thousands of individual cells, making the production of batteries for EVs quite involved compared to the batteries used in gas-powered vehicles.

Two pathways for employment in the EV industry

President Joe Biden announced a multi-trillion-dollar jobs plan last year that included almost $175 billion earmarked to encourage Americans to purchase EVs by making them "affordable for all families and manufactured by workers with good jobs." Toward the end of 2021, the Economic Policy Institute released a report that concluded that more government subsidies are needed to build a domestic supply chain to avoid job losses in the auto industry.

The think tank found that the auto industry could lose about 75,000 jobs by 2030 if the government doesn't invest in building a domestic supply chain. On the other hand, it could add about 150,000 jobs in the event of government subsidies.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, those subsidies should be targeted at increasing the portion of EV components manufactured in the U.S. and boosting the market share of EVs built in the U.S. The think tank found that about 75% of the parts used in the powertrain for U.S.-made gas-powered vehicles are made in the U.S. compared to less than half of the parts in the powertrain of an EV made domestically.

Zeroing in on the battery, the most expensive component in an EV, the Center for Strategic and International Studies and BloombergNEF found that far more than 50% of the value of the EV batteries used in U.S.-made vehicles went to non-U.S. companies. Moving this production to the U.S. would add more jobs to the domestic auto industry.

Employment opportunities in the EV space

It's unclear whether the U.S. government will offer the needed subsidies to convince automakers to add EV-related jobs domestically, but there are signs that some companies are already doing it without subsidies. Bloomberg reported on several automakers that are building in the U.S., although it also acknowledged that some are slashing employment in EV production.

For example, GM (GM) shuttered its assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio and eliminated or transferred more than 3,000 workers. It then started building a battery plant that will have a workforce that's about one-third of that total at lower pay.

However, GM is spending $30 billion on electric vehicles and decided to reopen its previously idle plant in the Detroit area to make the Hummer EV and Chevy Silverado electric pickups. The GM plant previously had 1,200 workers, but the automaker expects it to have twice as many two years from now.

The United Auto Workers union told Bloomberg that it is adding assembly jobs as automakers prepare for at least 10 years in which both EVs and gas-powered vehicles will be in demand. The news outlet also noted that there will be new types of jobs created in the auto industry due to the rise of EVs.

For example, Ford and battery manufacturer SK Innovation have plans to build an assembly facility and three battery factories in the U.S., which will employ 11,000 workers. GM and its partner, LG Chem, are planning to build an additional four battery factories and hire 1,200 workers at each to work at its joint venture with Ultium Cells.

Unskilled labor

On one hand, it might appear that the new jobs being created in the EV industry will all be high-tech positions, but it looks like there will also be jobs available for lesser-skilled workers.

For example, GM is working with Youngstown State University to locate and train workers, many of whom probably won't have college degrees, although they will have some analytical and computer skills. Additionally, Ultium isn't looking for workers with experience building EV batteries, as few workers have such experience.

As far as wages, Ultium wants to pay $16 to $22 an hour, but the United Auto Workers union wants to get into the factory and boost wages. GM doesn't expect to oppose the union, so there is a chance that wages could approach the $32 an hour mark that veteran union workers are currently paid.

Positions requiring bachelor's degrees

Aside from these unskilled positions requiring nothing more than on-the-job training, there will also be newer jobs for workers with college degrees, usually a bachelor's. For example, EV batteries require chemists, who are required to have at least a bachelor's degree or higher. Chemists are needed to research and test different chemical compositions of the batteries and come up with new, cheaper, and safer ways to build batteries. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for chemists, including those outside the EV industry, was around $79,000 as of 2020.

Other skilled positions in the EV industry include electrical engineers, electronics engineers, industrial engineers, materials engineers, mechanical engineers, mechanical engineering technicians, mechanical drafters, software developers, and commercial and industrial designers. The median pay for these jobs ranges from about $58,000 for a mechanical engineering technician to about $107,500 for electronics engineers.

The lowest-paying positions within this group tend to be mechanical drafters, followed by mechanical engineers and designers. Those in the middle tend to be electrical and industrial engineers, while those just below electronics engineers tend to be software developers and chemical engineers.

Final thoughts

The EV industry is an exciting industry for workers, and with the right circumstances, it will see significant job growth in the U.S. Current auto workers will further their career if they start preparing for the shift toward EVs right now, and those with their eye on the EV industry have a wide array of employment opportunities.

The workers who will be best-positioned to excel in the EV industry are those who seek the proper training and education today so they are ready to work as the EV industry’s demand for labor grows.