While pursuing her graduate degree in environmental geography in 2006, Cheri Chastain took a job as the recycling assistant at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, Calif. It was a part-time gig to pay the bills, and she spent most of her time tracking data on the brewer’s recycling efforts to get a better handle on what it was diverting from landfills and how it could do better.
Chastain, however, had larger goals. Her enthusiasm, ideas, and business savvy won her a quick promotion to recycling coordinator. Within four months she was promoted again, to a full-time position as Sierra Nevada’s sustainability coordinator -- a job she custom designed for herself.
Chastain is one of a new breed of professionals who are turning their environmental passion and industry knowledge into lucrative career opportunities. In an economy where job losses are rampant, some reports predict up to two million new “green” jobs could be created as part of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan.
And while many of those jobs may be of the blue-green variety -- more labor than management -- there will be many opportunities for college grads and mid-career professionals to make green career moves.
| Getting on the Ladder ... |
| • Launch recycling programs and other green initiatives in your own company to establish yourself as an expert on all things green. Then, if your company decides to create a green position in house, you will be top of mind for the job. • Calculate the bottom line results of your green projects or volunteer efforts before including them in your resume or job pitch. Hiring managers will be more impressed by your efforts if they can see the financial, as well as the environmental, impact. • Visit the websites of local green industry companies to search for job openings –- many companies don’t post positions at national job boards. • Join local green associations and participate in volunteer opportunities. Even if you don’t have a green industry job, these are great ways to expand your network, create some resume-worthy experience, and find out about new jobs before they go public. • Offer your volunteer services to nonprofit organizations. Don’t just sign up for general volunteer work, come up with specific ways you can support their efforts by using your unique skill set. This creates more substantive experience for your resume. |
Today Chastain reports directly to the owner and together they identify new ways the company can improve its environmental profile and its bottom line. As part of her job she tracks greenhouse gas emissions, researches biodiesel applications, and she is in the process of launching composting programs for the company’s break rooms and restaurant.
“I’m lucky to work under an owner who values sustainability,” Chastain notes. “We collaborate on ideas then I put them into action.”
However, it’s not easy to make this transition, warns Neal Laurie, director of marketing for the American Solar Energy Society (ASES). “Professional positions are the most sought after green jobs,” he says, noting that a recent job posting for a sustainability manager at a big solar company garnered more than 300 applications.
Finding those jobs can also be tricky, in part because there are no standard titles to search for. ASES’ 2009 Green Collar Jobs report lists 160 different green job roles that run the gamut from executive level positions requiring a Ph.D. to entry-level support roles that offer on-the-job training.
Among green professional jobs, entry-level and senior level positions are the best places to make career moves, suggests Peter Beadle, president of Greenjobs.com, a job board for the renewable energy industries. “Positions at the top and the bottom are the easiest to get, it’s the mid-level jobs that are harder to find.”
He notes that recent college grads have a great opportunity today to launch green careers by seeking out entry-level opportunities in green industry companies or local businesses known for their commitment to sustainability. Because these positions have lower salaries and don’t require a lot of experience, they are easier to get and a likely place for companies to recruit outside of their own employee base.
“CEO and vice president roles are the next easiest way to break into sustainably industries, because these candidates are all highly experienced, usually in related industries,” Beadle says.
If you don’t fall into one of these categories, however, don’t despair. Despite the challenges, mid-level professionals interested in moving into jobs with titles like sustainability manager or renewable energy coordinator will benefit from the fact that very few people have direct experience in these roles, because before now they didn’t exist.
By Sarah Fister Gale
“A lot of individuals are coming with real estate or development backgrounds, or construction engineering,” notes Laurie. “They are taking the skills they learned in those roles and transitioning them.”
Pick Me
Repositioning your skill set and experience for a green economy is the key to getting your foot in the door for any professional green job. But it takes more than a commitment to the environment: The most attractive candidates are those who can show how their sustainability skills or experiences contributed to bottom line results.
