Student Perspective: Green-Collar Jobs
This post is contributed by Jackie, a member of the Career Center Student Advisory Board.
The Color Green.
We have all heard of color idioms like blue-collar, white-collar, black sheep, white lie, and green thumb but there is a color idiom that may be new to you; green-collar. I was reading through old articles from TIME Magazine online when I stumbled across an interesting piece about green collared jobs. Conveniently the article was titled “What is a Green-Collar Job, Exactly?”
...a green-collar job can be anything that helps put America on the path to a cleaner, more energy efficient future. That means jobs in the public transit sector, jobs in green building, jobs in energy efficiency — even traditional, blue-collar manufacturing jobs, provided what you're making is more or less green.
Preparing yourself to take on a green-collared job is one way to get your foot into this treacherous job market. In fact, Obama has promised $150 billion dollars over a ten-year period that will help create 5 million new clean energy jobs. Also, due to the Green Jobs Act of 2007, additional $125 million per year is being provided to fund green job training programs throughout the country. Some of that money will be going to fund jobs like:
- Car and truck mechanic jobs, production jobs, and gas-station jobs related to biodiesel
- Energy retrofits to increase energy efficiency and conservation
- Green building
- Green waste composting on a large scale
- Hauling and reuse of construction materials and debris (C&D)
- Landscaping
- Non-toxic household cleaning in residential and commercial buildings
- Printing with non-toxic inks and dyes
- Recycling and reuse
- Small businesses producing products from recycled materials
- Ecotourism
- Solar Energy
While some of these jobs may be targeted towards people who do not hold college degrees, be aware that there is plenty of demand for green collars in the field of engineering, computer sciences, biological sciences, architecture, etc. An article titled "10 Hot Green Careers" from USNEWS.com may provide you with more information on how you maybe able to use your education and skills in this new job market.
Examples of careers with green alternatives:
I encourage you to research how your field of interest can be a part of a greener future. Below are a few websites dedicated to posting green collar jobs currently available.
- http://jobs.greenbiz.com/
- http://jobs.greenopolis.com/a/jobs/find-jobs
- http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/greendreamjobs.main/
Photo by: Oleg Tovologuine
