Finding Your Way to Green Careers and a Green Economy
In California, the governor introduced the California Green Corps, a new 20-month program designed to help young people become trained in the ever-growing green tech industries sprouting up there and all over the world.
While some feel like green-tech may be somewhat of an oxymoron many are considering it the wave of the future. Of course this doesn’t mean that everyone will be driving hybrid vehicles and eating vegetarian in the near future. It does however mean that those considering careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields will have considerably more leaning toward healthier options for you and the planet in pursuing your trade.
The California Green Corps represents one of the many new programs designed to take advantage of theses green careers and train California residents ages 18-24 as construction workers, salesperson, scientists, engineers, energy analysts, computer technicians and other jobs that will prepare them for the 21st Century workforce. California expects to create 83,000 green jobs over the next two years.
Earlier this year President Barack Obama named California activist and leading proponent of green economy jobs, Van Jones, as his special advisor on green jobs. Obama recently signed into law the Stimulus Package that included billions of dollars for green jobs, training and incentives designed to push the nation further and further away from dependency on fossil fuels – more commonly known as petro, gas, petroleum, and black gold.
Green jobs and a green economy are both the present and the eventual future. According to information from the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network and Silicon Valley Community Foundation “green-tech jobs have grown 23 percent from 2005 to 2007.” Additionally investment in Silicon Valley clean-tech companies increased 94 percent over the previous year.
One recent news article by Reuters noted that in an otherwise bleak economy, only healthcare and clean energy were bright spots. The story also points to a recent study by University of Massachusetts and the Center for American Progress determining that “the economic stimulus and the climate-change bills would generate $150 billion a year in clean-energy investments, netting 1.7 million new jobs annually.”
Although there are critics who say that green jobs are not the answer and will maybe not grow as fast as some optimistic predictions, most believe that the genie is out of the bottle and the only way to go either at a slow pace or fast pace will be green.
The question is how do you find a green job or even determine what one is? Well, practically every area of science, technology, engineering, and math fields and careers have green job components. Navigating your way through school or this growing universe is best done by searching online, talking to colleges about “green” and “environmental” majors and the ways technical learning can be molded to take advantage of these new green opportunities.
A good website to visit is Yahoo Green: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/123/finding-the-green-job-of-your-dreams.html, where you can check out different sites and career possibilities for green and green tech jobs of the future.