Green Careers in the Green Industry

By Adam Eisman and the Great Green Home Show, GREENandSAVE.com
Posted on Sunday 19th April 2009

The economy is not chugging along the way anyone wants it to. This has prompted many people to change jobs or add a second one, but most people are in constant search of a solid career to help pay the bills, put food on the table, and pay for little Susie’s flute lessons. But as the new green economy swings into full gear, many are hopeful that this industry can restore a rapidly disintegrating American middle class. In that vein, let’s take a look at Environmental Magazine’s list of some of the sectors and jobs that should grow rapidly in the near future:

  1. Tourism – Tourism is the largest business sector in the world economy, so it’s no wonder that people are finding entry-level work in the greening of this industry. Eco-tourism is huge and it’s growing at three times the rate of the tourism sector itself. This could be a job that offers a great future, as well as great fun.
  2. Planning and Land Use – Governments are increasingly interested in how they can reduce their communities carbon footprint, and they are turning to city planning professionals for direction on how to deal with the New Urbanism, which emphasizes sustainability. Transit oriented development is also a growing trend in such places as the Southwest, California, the Pacific Northwest and, hopefully, soon here in the Northeast.
  3. Health Care and Medicine – The growth here is in alternative medicine and preventative medicine. About one third of US adults use or have used some form of alternative medicine. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products outside of conventional medicine.
  4. The Energy Sector – Alternative energy is huge and the growth curve is starting to climb at a very steep rate. This is a business with huge opportunity. With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, homeowners across America are realizing that it really pays to get an energy efficient upgrade. But there need to be contractors, installation experts, and Home Efficiency Consultants to point homeowners in the right, money-saving direction, and that’s where you can come in.
  5. Environmental Justice and Law Jobs – There is an increasing demand for all those legal eagles to protect our planet and our endangered species. These guys are the vanguards of our activist groups and our Earth watch groups. This is an absolutely necessary and an absolutely wonderful way to practice law, and to make a difference for many endangered species across the nation.
  6. Green IT Professionals – Working in green businesses as an IT professional, or taking your skills to companies that are interested in becoming greener and need IT education, and implementation are a good start. Green IT professionals have extremely rewarding jobs and are seeing a large increase in demand as the corporate world realizes the profitability in going green.
  7. Teachers – Green teachers or “eco-educators” as the magazine calls them. A lot of institutions are looking to hire sustainability professionals and green educators. There is a huge demand for people to take their green knowledge and their green skills and instruct corporations on how to become more sustainable. It takes a little bit of research and requires good writing skills, but there’s a big demand and an even bigger need that has yet to be discovered in many corporations. This could be a good candidate for a consulting job.
  8. Construction and Design – Especially in corporate buildings and commercial construction, there are so many great advantages to building a LEED certified building, or any level of green, energy efficient building. The building and construction industry is still trying to wrap itself around the large upfront investment with a “down-the-road” payback. There is a great need for design, engineering and construction specialists who have the knowledge and background in green building.
  9. Food and Farming – The resurgence of the local farm, and the local organic farm are catalysts in this industry. There are opportunities springing up for healthier fast food and cafés. The green food sector is wide open, as the trend has been towards organic and local. With a smart idea on how to offer this type of fare, one could do very well.

GREENandSAVE.com is a free resource for anyone that wants to save energy, money, and the environment. The articles, product reviews, online tools, and return on investment calculations are researched from a diverse range of public and private sector sources. Overall, the company is passionate about saving money as well as creating healthy homes, offices, and lifestyles.

For more information on employment in the Green Industry, take a look at GREENandSAVE’s Eco Academy, which can train people for Green Careers. Or, check out GREENandSAVE.com for some great Home Remodeling Tips

test image for this block