The Number of Green Jobs Growing Quickly
It pays to know how to conduct a job search for emerging job markets like those associated with green jobs. Just search online using terms like green jobs and/or green job conference (or use one of the terms listed below) and you’ll discover a lot of activity.
Green Job Growth Stats
There’s good reason for all this activity and interest. Jobs in the clean energy economy grew at a national rate of 9.1 percent vs. only 3.7 percent between 1998 and 2007,.
By 2007 more than 68,200 businesses across all 50 states and the District of Columbia accounted for more than 770,000 jobs, despite a lack of sustained government support in the past decade.
What This Means For Job Growth
Well-paying jobs for people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds have been created within the emerging clean energy economy in every state. This new business market is predicted to continue its rapid expansion which is being driven by increasing consumer demand, the infusion of venture capital funds, and federal and positive changes within most state regulations.
When the private market sector begins to view the clean energy economy as a good investment, this starts the economic engine within that market. Generally, larger companies then begin to move into the sector and these employers will have larger sums to invest and will also begin acquiring some of these smaller venture funded companies.
The Pew Charitable Trust reported the following: “Venture capital investment in clean technology reached a total of about $12.6 billion by the end of 2008. In 2008 alone, investors directed $5.9 billion into American businesses in this sector, a 48 percent increase over 2007 investment totals.”
This means job growth.
Where To Find Green Job Opportunities
While time will not permit an exhaustive report on where the jobs can be found, here are a few suggestions to get you started.
One job board catering exclusively to green jobs that has made the news recently is GreenJobsFree.com and the reason I mention this one is because the site offers employers and recruiters the opportunity to post their green jobs at no charge. This free offer is sure to create more and more job postings. Check this one out.
Another great way to find other job boards that specialize in green jobs within areas such as: Biofuel, Engineering, Solar, Wind, Geothermal, etc. is to use your favorite search engine and enter terms like those in the list below. Please use exact match to these terms vs. broad match. This just means to put your search term inside quotes like this: “green jobs” or use the advanced feature to specify you want a phrase match.
Here are some of my favorite terms besides the root word green jobs.
- green job boards
- green jobs online
- green energy jobs
- green engineering jobs (substitute your own occupational term for engineering)
- green jobs network
- green collar jobs
- green-collar jobs
Here are a few more job board sites that cater to the green energy market.
There are many others, so it you’ve got a favorite, just leave a comment below and share your job site with everyone.
Carl, great post. I came across your blog in a Twitter search and will continue to visit it. I especially agree with you when you say “Well-paying jobs from people of all skill levels and educational backgrounds have been created within the emerging clean energy economy in every state.” Many people assume you need direct experience in clean energy, which is not the case for many clean energy jobs. Allies in Energy has some job postings up and will continue to add more to our Twitter account @AlliesInEnergy and at http://www.alliesinenergy.com/talent-network/job-search.php