Green Challenge and Opportunity

Team Career member Victoria Andrew presents…

The global challenge to focus on sustaining our environment is transforming our white and blue collars into green!  Multitudinous companies and entrepreneurs are pursuing strategies to capitalize on the New Energy Economy.  Simultaneously, many industrial and corporate employees are migrating to green professions by mastering training programs on how to produce alternative power, accelerate energy efficiency, and renovate buildings with sustainable energy systems.  Professionals are primarily attracted to green development to satisfy the demand for implementing environmentally conscious design, policy, and technology.

Some careers obviously fall into the green-collar category, such as the hundreds of jobs available for the Spanish wind company, Gamesa, in Fairless Hills, PA.  If you engineer wind turbines or solar panels, your job is clearly green.  Yet, some propose that the work of decarbonizing America’s economy will also galvanize millions of new jobs.  In the next 20 years, an estimated 75% of buildings in the U.S. will either be brand new or substantially rehabilitated according to green standards.

Green IT is also taking root, whether you’re looking at specific methodologies from power management to virtualization, or taking a top-level look at corporate-sustainability goals.  The Worldwide Green IT Report unveils how far corporations had come in greening their data centers.  The overall results unveiled a consistent agenda for most firms to integrate green IT as a cost-savings tool.  In the past, green IT was merely a wish-list item, yet now it’s essential for the majority of the major corporations surveyed internationally.  Especially in Silicon Valley, job opportunities are being backed by millions of dollars into the renewable energy industry.

According to a CareerBuilder.com hiring trend survey, thirteen percent of employers said they plan to add green jobs in the new year, compared to merely one in ten from 2009.  The survey also disclosed the following top 10 environmentally-friendly jobs for the green economy, with salary information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

1)       Hydrologist: Median annual income $51,080.

2)       Environmental Engineer: Median annual income $50,000.

3)       Conservation Biologist: Median annual income $52,480.

4)       Toxicologist: Median annual income $79,500.

5)       Environmental Attorney: Median annual income for attorneys specializing in construction, real estate, and land use is $70,000.

6)       Landscape Architect: Median annual income $53,120.

7)       Corporate Waste Compliance Coordinator: Median annual income $39,000.

8)       Pollution Control Engineer: Median annual income $66,000.

9)       Urban and Regional Planner: Median annual income $45,250.

10)    Environmental Chemist: Median annual income $51, 080.

So, how do you find the quintessential green job for you? Victoria will deliver what YOU need to know same place tomorrow. Until then, have a groovy day and we’ll finish up in about 24.

Danny Huffman, MA, CEIP, CPRW, CPCC, author, educator, and co-owner of Career Services International/Education Career Services, www.educationcs.com.  He may be reached directly at [email protected] or visit his Career Blog at www.educationcs.wordpress.com.