What Are Green Careers?

Environmental initiatives are becoming a lot more common, and so are green careers, also called green collar jobs. Everyone wants to clean up the environment and keep climate change to a minimum, and the addition of lots of potential positions would be a great bonus. However, just what is a green job, and what makes it different from a similar position with a conventional company? Where are the jobs coming from? Here's a look at green collar jobs, how you can get one, and how things really work.

One definition of a green job is one that's more than just temporary. A real green collar job should be part of a career path, pay well enough to support you, and reduce pollution and waste or provide some other environmental benefit. Whether you work producing wind turbines, helping to manage an environmentally friendly not-for-profit organization, or planting new trees yourself, you're working in a green position. Making our system more environmentally friendly will take a lot of work, but that means more green careers.

It's important to remember that new tech fields aren't the only place where green jobs might appear. You won't just see career possibilities in solar energy or wind power. The industrial sector, management, design, and many other areas can get involved with environmental initiatives and make a difference. If you're interested in a position that could make a difference, be sure to look everywhere you can. You might be surprised by the many different green career options available.

For instance, if we're going to really go green, a lot of our existing buildings and processes will need retrofitting. That means we'll need architects and efficiency engineers, builders, supervisors, laborers and the whole chain of people required to create those retrofits, and many other people. We'll need to take a hard look at the way we do things now, and figure out more environmentally friendly ways of doing them.

Of course, green career options aren't just on the horizon - they're already here. About eight hundred thousand people in the US already have one, whether it's in the clean energy field, conservation, or mitigating pollution and environmental damage. There are all kinds of great green career options out there, as long as we're willing to take a little time to find them. What can you do to get one? Start looking into the positions available at environmental organizations and companies involved in alternative energies. Find out whether your skills are appropriate for becoming an environmental consultant or advisor. Don't just sit there, though - you could be looking at a great opportunity. Check out the green careers available to you, and get your resume ready.