Where to Find Green Jobs in Renewable Energy

Environmental Jobs Poised to Soar Once Recovery Gets Underway

Oct 15, 2009

Green jobs will make up a larger segment of the workforce once the economy booms. Here are some resources for those who are interested in green careers.

Before taking office in January 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to create five million new green jobs within a decade. These environmental careers will come as the result of a number of nationwide initiatives including green building, renewable energy, and the manufacture of hybrid cars.

According to Geoffrey Lean and Leonard Doyle in the November 2, 2008 The Independent article, "Obama's Green Jobs Revolution," the president wants to “create five million new ‘green collar jobs’, largely by greatly expanding the use of renewable energy...insulating a million homes a year and to put a million rechargeable ‘plug-in hybrid cars’ on the road by 2015.” Clearly, an environmental career revolution is poised to change the face of employment in the 21st century.

What are Green Jobs?

With new developments in renewable energy including hydrogen, wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal, the environmental careers that will flourish in the near future focus largely on energy production and increased efficiency. These include sustainable building, retrofitting existing buildings for energy efficiency, research and development, and product installation (e.g., solar panels and solar water heaters).

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." So where can workers find environmental jobs?

Best Websites for Environmental Careers

While the big employment websites including Yahoo! HotJobs, CareerBuilder, and Monster list some environmental jobs, numerous additional websites specialize in listings specifically targeted to sustainable careers. For example, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)’s Career Center posts listings related to sustainable construction around the United States.

Powered by SimplyHired, Green Jobs Network allows candidates to search for sustainable employment, occupational books, and job fairs. Be sure to join their Linkedin group and read tips for job seekers. SustainableBusiness offers an entire page devoted to environmental opportunities. GreenEnergyJobs is an international employment website for careers in renewable energy. On all these sites, don’t forget to sign up for email updates, alerts, and RSS feeds for up to the minute leads.

Environmental careers will change the face of the labor force in the years to come. Those seeking work in energy and the environment and are passionate about making a difference can anticipate growing opportunities in a field that helps preserve the natural world.

The copyright of the article Where to Find Green Jobs in Renewable Energy in Job Search is owned by Daniel Gansle. Permission to republish Where to Find Green Jobs in Renewable Energy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.