Green Jobs: What They Are and Where to Look for Them, Part II

photo credit: Athena's Pix via flickr

This is a guest post by Alexia Vernon, a leadership and career speaker, certified coach, trainer, and writer with an expertise in social enterprise and millennials.

As discussed in Part I of this green jobs series, “a green job is a position that stimulates the economy, makes a positive social impact, and is good for the environment.” In Part II, I explore several green job fields and some specific opportunities within each.

Careers in Renewable Energy

For purposes of this article, I’m referring to energy sources that do not rely on fossil fuel and nuclear energy, and as a consequence, reduce pollution and America’s reliance on other nations.

Geothermal, solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass/biofuel have all been touted as viable alternative energy sources for the 21st century.

While solar and wind have thus far garnered the most government, business, and private support, the jury is still out on which source(s) will move from being available mainly to the elite to being viable alternatives for the mainstream.

Green job opportunities in renewable energy are vast and varied, including such diverse roles as research, manufacturing of materials and equipment, marketing, PR, sales, distribution, installation, and repair.

Three Renewable Energy Green Jobs

1. Solar Installer: As the name suggests, these folks are charged with installing solar panels on homes and buildings.
   • To be successful in this field, you must have good mechanical skills and experience working with electrical systems (most legitimate companies require you to be a licensed electrician), and be comfortable working on roofs and ladders.
   • The best jobs require candidates to hold a renewable energy certificate. Most of these programs are at community colleges. To locate a certification program near you, visit the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP)
   • Pay in this field ranges from $10-$30/hour, and many positions are full-time.
2. Geothermal Sales Many geothermal jobs are for water furnace systems that capitalize on the free, renewable energy contained in one’s backyard to reduce residential heating, cooling, and hot water costs by up to 70%.
   • No specialized training beyond traditional sales experience is usually necessary for a geothermal sales representative position (although an understanding of geothermal energy is certainly going to be useful as more sales professionals compete for opportunities).
   • Sales managers are usually expected to come into their roles with established relationships with area dealers.
   • The majority of these full-time positions pay between $40,000-$50,000/year.
3. Wind Engineer: Opportunities in this field are often subdivided into the engineering of wind blades; plant design, maintenance, and repair; and project management.
   • While many electrical engineers are shifting into these positions, an increasing number of colleges and graduate programs are running majors and offering certificates/specializations in this area to prepare students to be competitive candidates for the thousands of existing and emerging positions.
   • An engineering degree is required, with a Master’s and/or Professional Engineer (PE) certification preferred.
   • Professionals can expect to make anywhere from $75,000-$150,000/year in one of these positions.

Careers in Water Quality and Conservation

Like renewable-energy jobs, water-related green jobs cover a breadth of private-sector occupational classifications (e.g. opportunities exist in design, engineering, manufacturing, installation, repair, and sales). They also include a range of nonprofit and public-sector positions.

Three Water-Related Green Jobs

1. Water Educator/Organizer: While community educators and organizers exist in a range of science fields, many are involved in water education.
   • Whether employed by a community or youth organization, school, or conservation agency, these professionals must have a thorough knowledge of water conservation practices, understand the water concerns of the community in which they work, and feel comfortable teaching strategies and organizing community members around unmet needs.
   • A four-year degree in a science field is usually preferred, although candidates with a degree in education or political science will usually be considered since these jobs require people with knowledge and skills in all three of these fields.
   • Pay is increasing but typically hovers between $30,000-$45,000/year.
2. Water Planner/Analyst: Most of these positions involve working for a municipality.
   • Individuals hired for such positions manage residential, commercial, and/or agricultural water conservation programs, many of which provide incentives for smart water usage.
   • In addition to a four-year degree in environmental science, geology, biology, chemistry, landscape architecture, horticulture, or a related field, education/experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and knowledge of local and natural environmental policies are desired for many such positions.
   • Pay ranges from $40,000/year for entry-level planners/analysts up to $100,000/year for senior managers and those with an engineering degree.
3. Construction Inspector/Water Engineer: While water engineers are needed in a range of fields, as more buildings compete for U.S. Green Building Certification (USGBC), many water engineers are needed to consult with construction companies and provide solutions that ensure that green buildings reduce and responsibly recycle waste water.
   • Engineers in water-related positions should have the same basic engineering qualifications as engineers in renewable energy, but with emphasis on water resource management.
   • These professionals might start at a slightly lower salary than engineers in other fields, at $50,000/year, but with 5-10 years experience will usually end up earning between $100,000-$150,000 a year.

Positions in Other Aspects of the Greening Business World

A plethora of green and sustainability jobs are cropping up in such traditional employment sectors as finance, training and development, and hospitality, and in large corporations as varied as Wal-Mart, Sun Microsystems, DuPont, Home Depot, and Hilton.

As layoffs are starting to level off, be on the lookout for even more green and sustainability positions to begin emerging.

Three Green Career Areas More Closely Related to Conventional Businesses

1. Environmental/Sustainability Corporate Responsibility Officer: A subdivision of corporate social responsibility (CSR), these officers create their corporation’s environmental impact visions and design and oversee corresponding initiatives.
   • These programs usually focus on a reduction in pollution and energy usage, and the safe elimination and recycling of hazardous waste.
   • Officers may also oversee community volunteer and corporate sponsorship programs that enable the corporation to make a more measurable positive environmental impact on their local communities.
   • Many positions are located oversees.
   • To do such work for a major corporation, an MBA is almost always required. There’s a bit more wiggle room with qualifications in a start-up or small-to-mid sized business.
   • Pay at corporations is very competitive, around $50,000 outside of New York to $100,000-$150,000 in New York.
2. Green Job Counselor:As America grows its green economy, professionals will continue to seek career advice in this area.
   • While at the moment anyone can label themself a green job counselor, a good one will be a trained and experienced career counselor, understand the culture surrounding green jobs, and know how to connect job seekers with these opportunities.
   • I suspect that four-year degrees in counseling and workforce education will be required.
   • Pay is comparable with traditional job counselors, many of whom work in the nonprofit sector — $25,000-$45,000/year.
3. Eco-Tour Manager: As more restaurants, hotels, and tour operators brand themselves eco-friendly, professionals are needed to sell these experiences — be it designing clever copy or publishing the lifestyle magazines that feature them. (This is one industry that is managing to survive in print! If you don’t believe me check out Dwell or Organic Spa Magazine and be ready to be wowed).
   • A range of staff, from housekeepers and dishwashers to architects and guest services managers, are needed to implement the strategies that deliver on these sustainability promises.
   • There are many hospitality jobs I could have selected, but I chose eco-tour manager because I’ve encountered many of them while planning several island getaways over the last year.
   • Note that pay can be VERY low for a tour guide who may have no higher education and/or be willing to live on $30-$50/day in exchange for living on a tropical island for a few months to a year (many eco-tourism jobs are seasonal).
   • On the other hand, a college graduate with a degree in hospitality, management, event planning, or leisure services who works for an established hotel or private company can earn from $40,000-$80,000, on par with traditional tour managers/directors.

If this survey of possibilities whets your appetite, be sure to check out the third and final post in this series, which will include a Top 10 list of where to find green job openings, along with some green job searching tips.

About guest poster Alexia Vernon:

Alexia Vernon is a leadership and career speaker, certified coach, trainer, and writer with an expertise in millennials and social enterprise.

As the owner of Catalyst for Action, Alexia empowers values-driven leaders to harness their values, strengths, enthusiasms, and resources to build careers and companies that achieve the 3 S’s: success, sustainability, and a positive social impact.

Alexia’s blog, Musings from the Generation We Coach is on Blogs.com’s “10 Blogs to Read If You’ve Just Been Laid Off”, and she is the Newark Corporate Leadership Examiner. Follow her on Twitter and contact her by email at alexia@alexiavernon.com for a complimentary, telephone career coaching session.

Related Resources

From Our Bookstore

• Green Jobs: A Guide to Eco-Friendly Employment
• Careers in Renewable Energy: Get a Green Energy Job
• Saving the Earth as a Career: Advice on Becoming a Conservation Professional
• The ECO Guide to Careers that Make a Difference: Environmental Work For A Sustainable World
• 75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make A Difference
• More books on Environmental & Green Jobs

Related Articles

• Time Magazine: What Is a Green-Collar Job, Exactly?
• LA Times: Why Obama’s Green Jobs Plan Might Work
• In These Times: Green Jobs for Whom?
• Green for All: Green-Collar Jobs Overview
• How Stuff Works: What are Green-Collar Jobs?

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