Education for Green Jobs

Many unemployed workers are taking community college classes to train for jobs in the "green collar" industry: alternative energy. Solar energy, wind turbines, biofuels and other types of renewable energy training is becoming more and more popular as jobs in other industries continue to decline.

Two-year colleges and their students are hopeful that the push for alternative energy will bring about millions of "green" jobs that will pay well without requiring a four-year degree.

Unfortunately, however, many green energy firms are laying off employees and/or selling out due to the financial crisis, and some are worried that too many people will receive training for jobs that don't exist.

On the other side of the coin, once the economy improves and state and federal governments require more alternative energy choices, college administrators believe that green collar workers will be in demand, particularly in light of the fact that the federal stimulus package intends to create thousands of positions in order to retrofit public housing and government buildings for higher energy efficiency, as well as providing tens of billions of dollars for the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

In 2007, the energy efficiency industry produced 8.6 million jobs and $1 trillion in revenue, while the renewable energy industry brought in 500,000 jobs and $43 billion in the United States. The American Solar Energy Society projects that both of these industries could produce jobs for 16 to 37 million people by the year 2030.

Most of the students seeking training in these industries are middle-aged men from the auto industry who recently lost their jobs. They see alternative energy as picking up where their prior industry left off.

With starting salaries of $45,000, and a median salary of $95,500, a green or renewable energy degree is a tempting opportunity, particularly in light of the current trend toward cleaning up the planet and reducing dependency on non-renewable energy. And classes are available online for these degrees as well.

Wind energy technology, sustainable design, ecotourism, environmental and natural resources law, organic agriculture systems, solar energy, and other courses are just a few topics of study in the green job market. Use your imagination and see if you can think of other potential career choices you could make that a green course of study could help you achieve.

Online learning is accessible to everyone, at a lower cost than traditional colleges. You could graduate in less time as well, and you can learn according to your own schedule. Don't quit your job to get your education. Learn online. We'll show you how.