Are Environmental Jobs the Next Tech Boom?
Green Collar Careers Set to Take Off
Before taking office in January 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama promised to create five million new "green collar jobs" within a decade. These environmental careers will come from a number of initiatives including building retrofits, renewable energy, and the manufacture of plug-in hybrid cars.
In the November 2, 2008 The Independent article, "Obama's Green Jobs Revolution," Geoffrey Lean and Leonard Doyle add, "He also wants the U.S. motor industry to take a lead in producing environmentally friendly vehicles rather than 4x4s. He promises to invest in clean engine technology, to increase America's hitherto lax car fuel economy standards by 4 percent a year, and to boost sales of green cars by giving a $7,000 tax credit to people who buy them. And he has pledged to convert the White House fleet to plug-in hybrids within a year of taking office."
With today's growing emphasis on renewable energy, technology, and the environment, sustainable careers are poised to take off in the near future. So what industries will benefit from the green collar revolution, and how can workers get in?
Green Careers Defined
With new developments in renewable energy including hydrogen, wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal, the environmental jobs that will grow in the near future focus mainly on energy production and efficiency. These include:
- sustainable construction
- building retrofitting
- renewable energy research and production
- energy efficiency product installation (e.g., solar panels, solar water heaters)
The Coming Explosion in Environmental Jobs
The June 11, 2009 Greenwire article, “Green Jobs Sector ‘Poised for Explosive Growth',” quotes the Pew Center on the States' interim deputy director Lori Grange as saying, “The nation's clean-energy economy is poised for explosive growth...the trends include surging venture capital investment...a critical growth rate in clean-energy generation, energy efficiency and environmentally friendly products." Clearly, employment in renewable energy is slated to increase substantially. So how can workers get in?
Finding Sustainable Employment
While some specialized positions may require retraining, many other environmental positions are available including program managers, trainers, building planners, and legal experts. Candidates can search for these and other openings online using Greenjobsearch.org, GreenBiz.com, or Treehugger.com. Another useful resource is the U.S. Green Building Council's Career Center.
As the economy recovers, sustainable jobs will become increasingly available to those who are interested in using their skills to help further the cause of reducing both energy and greenhouse gases. Whether this results in a new economic boom reminiscent of the tech boom of the mid-to-late 1990s remains to be seen. But in any case, employment in renewable energy is slated to explode within the next few years.
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