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Those looking into starting a career or changing career paths might be interested to look into “Green Jobs” which are expected to triple in the next 10 years, according to a study released last year by the United States Conference of Mayors.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, green jobs or green collar jobs are "work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development (R&D), administrative, and service activities that contribute(s) substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality. Specifically, but not exclusively, these include jobs that help protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy, materials, and water consumption through high-efficiency strategies; de-carbonize the economy; and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and pollution."
With President Obama’s new economic stimulus, which allocated $50B as incentives to encourage job creation in green initiatives, the projected three-fold increase in green jobs is not far off.
Last year there were around 750,000 green jobs in the United States, 55% of these jobs were in Engineering, Legal, Research and Consulting, which are considered support or indirect green jobs which help lead the country toward energy independence. Renewable power generation, the next largest category, accounted for 16% of “green collar jobs”.
Renewable power generation holds a lot of promise in the development of new jobs as America looks to remove its dependency on fossil fuels. Wind Power in particular is expected to create more than a quarter of a million new jobs by the end of 2010 if the full effect of Obama’s stimulus funding is realized, this according to a recent study done by the Democratic Leadership Council.
The same study said that jobs in the solar energy sector will grow by 110,000 by 2010 and employment in biofuels production and development could expand to 94,000 by 2016.
Other than generating “green energy”, the reduction of energy consumption through energy-efficient engineering is another aspect of this trend of going green. Retrofitting existing buildings with energy-efficient materials and technologies will employ architects, carpenters, electricians, engineers and designers which are also expected to add significantly to the number of green collar workers.
Colleges and universities are ready to fill in the demand for new green jobs by adding courses like environmental studies in their course offerings; likewise, traditional courses such as architecture, engineering and management have included “green subjects” to their curriculum.
According to Sheila Danzig, founder of Degree.com, one way for adults looking for a “green” career change and taking advantage of the expected boom in green jobs is by taking online courses from online universities such as those found at online education portal www.degree.com. By earning a college Degree online with online study, busy career men and women can maintain their current jobs while improving their career outlook by supplementing their academic credentials.
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