Reply to comment

We are seeing a quick increase in the environmental job sector and if sentiment of the Green Inaugural Ball is any indication, the green collar economy will only continue to grow. Fast Company has an excellent article called, “Ten Best Green Jobs for the Next Decade” and the jobs range from a Recycler to an Energy Efficiency Builder. Take a look at some of these up-and-coming green collar jobs:

Solar Power Installer
There are already around 770,000 jobs globally in the solar industry and this job can thrive anywhere because all you need is the sun. Our friends at The Solar Energy Industries Association believe that there can be an increase in over 110,000 jobs by 2016 and will be relatively high paying.

Conservation Biologist
The article explains that this discipline is “the urgent quest to preserve the integrity of ecosystems around the world -- and to quantify the value of -- ecosystems services -- leads to opportunities in teaching, research and fieldwork for government, nonprofits, and private companies.” Many schools right now have conservation programs and with the economic stimulus package, Obama offers an increase in federal support for science and research.

Farmer
Right now, America has only two million farmers and in order to sustain our demands in this country we need more…according to Michael Pollan we need tens of millions more. If becoming a farmer doesn’t suit you, you can also try these related fields: urban gardener; farmers market and CSA coordinator; artisanal cheese makers, and other food producers.

Check out some up-to-date green job listings at Green Buildings Jobs, Green Profs, Green Dream Jobs, and Green Jobs Network. Please visit the Fast Company article to see an explanation on the other seven up-and-coming jobs.