As I am sure you know all too well, traditional Blue Collar and White Collar jobs have been on the decline given our current financial crisis in the U.S.  However, keep your eyes open to change the color of your collar to Green, if you have a passion for transferring your skills into the budding green industry.  According to data from the American Solar Energy Society, renewable energy and energy-efficient industries created close to 8.5 million jobs in 2006 and are projecting that number to rise to as high as 40 million jobs by year 2030.

Imagine you like the outdoors and you are tired of the suffocating confines of the 8-6 office routine.  Maybe it is time be adventuresome and look for companies hiring solar panel installers.  Consider researching what it would require for you to become a building efficiency expert, so you can become part of companies’ green growth, such as Johnson Controls with plans to hire approximately 60,000 workers worldwide in the next decade, according to Joy Clark-Holmes, director of public sector markets.  Or maybe you should research the technical expertise that will be in demand within the wind turbine industry, which will include all aspects of manufacturing, assembly, and installation.  Keep in mind also that there may be more job security by going green since many of the green industry sector jobs are expected to be more difficult to outsource.

As alternative energy companies begin to boom, so will the need to find talent who can manufacture, sell, install, and technically support the entire industry, from infrastructure and production to back office operations.  Here on the east coast, there is likely to be a big staff shortage as the solar companies begin to leverage the sunny states down south and begin looking for people with solar expertise. Although the west coast has already seen growth from the solar business, companies in the eastern region will probably have to train new employees on all facets of these emerging green collar jobs.

Although there is debate about what constitutes a green collar job, there is one thing that I believe we can all agree on.  If you get a new job in green that is is generating green for you and your employer, then no matter what collar you wear inside the company, the outcome is environmentally and economically favorable for all.