companies taking eco-friendly practice as the core of their business operations, universities have started to become better equipped to educate students for “green careers”.So what is a “green career”? In order to revolutionize the way we live, a lot of development has to take place to make our lifestyles more environmentally friendly. Buildings have to be restructured to be more energy efficient, and energy has to become more sustainable. This will require an overhaul of existing businesses and industries, not to mention create entirely new fields of employment to accomplish the task.
Here are a few career paths worth investigating if you think you are the type of person dedicated to building a green future. You can enter these fields at an entry-level position with a bachelor’s degree, but you can increase your chances by furthering your education by pursuing a master’s degree. This will help you advance quickly within the field and increase your income.
1. Energy Auditing: This line of work requires someone to check equipment, lighting, ducts, and windows in private residences and commercial businesses in order to collect information for future structural improvements and renovations. Basically, we need to learn from our past mistakes in order to create more energy efficient structures. This requires incorporating high-efficiency air conditioning, solar panels where applicable, and minimizing energy waste. This is a fast-growing field of employment and a bachelor’s degree in business administration (BA), business management, or marketing will help you become more employable.
2. Green Conservationist: Enjoy being outdoors a lot? A conservationist has the exciting job of working with governments, and potentially directly with landowners, to protect and keep track of a region’s natural resources. Since many natural resources are at a risk of running out within our lifetime, this is an extremely in demand and important job for the future of our planet. A bachelor’s degree in ecology, or other environmental sciences combined with study in business, finance, and marketing can prepare you for a wider range of job opportunities in this line of work.
3. Environmental Economist: The keyword on every business leader’s lips is: sustainability. An environmental economist researches and strategizes how to troubleshoot and solve any number of economic obstacles that could possibly take place in the production and distribution of a business’s goods and services. This helps in the long-term growth of a business, and promotes innovation and development. A master’s degree in economics will train you and help jumpstart this very viable and important job.
4. Solar Energy Engineer: The sun is most certainly our greatest asset for the future. Over the past few decades, scientists and engineers have been working tirelessly to streamline the most efficient ways to harness the power of the sun’s rays to more economically and ecologically power our lifestyles. A solar energy engineer’s responsibility is to work on evaluating energy efficiency and the potential use of solar panels in large-scale areas through the use of computer modeling programs. A master’s degree in engineering is required, and more preferably relevant work experience will give you an edge over other possible candidates.
The good news is, with the world becoming more environmentally conscious and many countries passing a number of green acts and legislation, “green-geared” degrees can be found at many universities. Invest in yourself, in the planet, and in the future, and consider a green career today!
About the Author
Kate Simmons is an avid researcher and writer who is interested in environmental concerns.
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