Have you ever thought about what it might be like to climb a utility pole and restore power during an electrical outage? Or design a wind turbine? Or help people weatherize their homes to be more energy-efficient? These are just a few examples of the many in-demand jobs in the energy field.

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Accreditation for Geothermal Installercontact Peter Governale at Tuscany Solar (860-881-1025)

The Solar Career Map was developed by Dr. Sarah White and IREC for the Solar Instructor Training Network, explores the many job opportunities available in the solar industry.

 Where Are the Jobs?

According to the National Commission on Energy Policy:

• The electric power generation, transmission, and distribution industry employs about 400,000 people.
• A large percentage (30-40%) of electric power workers will be eligible for retirement or leave the industry for other reasons by 2013. Industry surveys suggest 58,200 of these open positions will be skilled craft workers and another 11,200 will be engineers.
• As demand for power increases, the energy industry will need skilled construction workers to design and build new infrastructure. It’s estimated that in 2022, 150,000 professional and skilled craft workers from the construction sector will be needed for design and construction work in the electric sector.
• Demand for skilled workers to operate and maintain the electric generation systems of the future will increase steadily as new technologies come online. Roughly 60,000 additional workers will be needed by 2030, an increase of almost 15%.

Whether you’re interested in traditional, renewable, or alternative energy, there’s a place for you in the new energy workforce. 

 

Traditional and Green Energy

While much of the focus today is on occupations in renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, there is also a great need to maintain and upgrade the conventional utility industry and infrastructure. A high percentage of the current workforce will be retiring in the near future. That trend, combined with transmission systems in need of upgrading, has created a demand for more skilled workers.

Traditional energy sources consist primarily of coal, natural gas, and oil. Nuclear energy and electricity also are considered traditional or conventional.

Renewable energy and energy efficiency are part of the green energy sector. Renewable energy includes solar (photovoltaic and thermal), wind, geothermal, fuel cell, biomass and biofuels, hydrogen fuel cells, and ocean technologies (tidal and wave energy). Energy efficiency includes commercial and residential buildings, consumer products, and other technologies (such as smart grids) that reduce energy consumption.

Hot Jobs

Focus on Nuclear

Green Jobs

Sources: Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Center for Energy Workforce Development