A Perspective on Green Opportunities
I was recently asked to comment on some of the skepticism toward the availability of job opportunities within the renewable and sustainable industries. Both classifications are included as there is a difference, but for the sake of simplifying the message, we'll refer to the "Green" industry. As an organization focused on accelerating opportunities within this industry, I was more than happy to help with the common goal.
The Perspective Challenge
The challenge is to decipher between the health of the job market relative to the overall economy and recognizing the true level of opportunities within the Green sector. As broad as this subject is, you can choose to further dissect the viability of each industry within it (solar, wind, bio, [insert passion here]). Given that elements such as political influence, local economies (consider the predominant industry as in the oil states, great example here), regulations and incentives, acceptance of technology, effectiveness of awareness programs or organizations, education and training systems, each contribute to the perceptions (and realities) of the green job market, you cannot apply a blanket statement about the availability of opportunities. Simply offering a general statement has the potential to be misleading and provides ineffective guidance to the new "champions" seeking a career path in this promising industry.
Properly Feed Perspective
Each person must look at their immediate surrounding's unique elements (and please, don't limit yourself to the list above) to derive their own assessment of the market. What may be dire in one location can be fruitful in another. For example, the Sacramento Business Journal recently posted an article that ranked Sacramento as one the worst cities for small businesses. Yet in my journey down this path, I have had the fortunate opportunity to surround myself around many green business owners and organizations in Sacramento that helped me determine that those stats are just that. What reports sometimes fail to show the industry-curious are the many green business seeds that have been planted that are ran by business owners who are hungry for green talent. This awareness can only be achieved through the assessment and networking. In less than one year, I have had the opportunity to work with two solar start-ups, a green/cleantech business advisory team, and various sustainable planning organizations. Comparing the number of positions posted on job boards, some cities show that their opportunities far outweigh others. However, it becomes a relative observation once you include population and economic dynamics. Recent trends show competing states attracting companies by offering better incentive-based policies. This element alone can skew perceptions of opportunities, because now those opportunities have the potential to move interstate. Again, the challenge here is to understand that opportunities are the result of your own observations supported by your level of information gathering.
Seek New Perspective
What's exciting to know is that there are opportunities out there…hundreds of them, even in the midst of economic recovery! As I mentioned earlier, assess your immediate surroundings. If what you find is not ideal, don't abandon your goal. Seek to gain new perspectives by expanding your assessment to a new location that offers a new set of unique elements. You may find that your opportunity is literally in the next city over. Better yet, maybe even in a state or country you’ve always wanted to live in anyways!
"Let your perspectives drive you to your goals…not prevent you from achieving them." ~Michael Dela Pena
The Perspective Challenge
The challenge is to decipher between the health of the job market relative to the overall economy and recognizing the true level of opportunities within the Green sector. As broad as this subject is, you can choose to further dissect the viability of each industry within it (solar, wind, bio, [insert passion here]). Given that elements such as political influence, local economies (consider the predominant industry as in the oil states, great example here), regulations and incentives, acceptance of technology, effectiveness of awareness programs or organizations, education and training systems, each contribute to the perceptions (and realities) of the green job market, you cannot apply a blanket statement about the availability of opportunities. Simply offering a general statement has the potential to be misleading and provides ineffective guidance to the new "champions" seeking a career path in this promising industry.
Properly Feed Perspective
Each person must look at their immediate surrounding's unique elements (and please, don't limit yourself to the list above) to derive their own assessment of the market. What may be dire in one location can be fruitful in another. For example, the Sacramento Business Journal recently posted an article that ranked Sacramento as one the worst cities for small businesses. Yet in my journey down this path, I have had the fortunate opportunity to surround myself around many green business owners and organizations in Sacramento that helped me determine that those stats are just that. What reports sometimes fail to show the industry-curious are the many green business seeds that have been planted that are ran by business owners who are hungry for green talent. This awareness can only be achieved through the assessment and networking. In less than one year, I have had the opportunity to work with two solar start-ups, a green/cleantech business advisory team, and various sustainable planning organizations. Comparing the number of positions posted on job boards, some cities show that their opportunities far outweigh others. However, it becomes a relative observation once you include population and economic dynamics. Recent trends show competing states attracting companies by offering better incentive-based policies. This element alone can skew perceptions of opportunities, because now those opportunities have the potential to move interstate. Again, the challenge here is to understand that opportunities are the result of your own observations supported by your level of information gathering.
Seek New Perspective
What's exciting to know is that there are opportunities out there…hundreds of them, even in the midst of economic recovery! As I mentioned earlier, assess your immediate surroundings. If what you find is not ideal, don't abandon your goal. Seek to gain new perspectives by expanding your assessment to a new location that offers a new set of unique elements. You may find that your opportunity is literally in the next city over. Better yet, maybe even in a state or country you’ve always wanted to live in anyways!
"Let your perspectives drive you to your goals…not prevent you from achieving them." ~Michael Dela Pena
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