EnergyCareerPath.com

Snow on the Sierra College NCC Campus What a beautiful way to start off Energy Survey training than on the Sierra College Nevada County Campus covered in snow....in March!  The cold air and the need to get to the warm classrooms is a great way to introduce the students many of the lessons they will during the one week course.  In this case, building science which includes the study of building envelopes and fenestrations, R-Values and U-Values, solar heat gain and so much more. Throughout the week, I will update you on the progress of the training!  So stay tuned. ~Michael For more information on the training I provide, please visit: www.energycareerpath.com (cont) Here, the students are learning how to survey HVAC systems.  Each group is assigned a building to survey throughout the week.  In this instance, the students are assessing a condenser. HVAC survey The students also learned to survey fenestrations, which are any openings in the ...

Training Future Build Cohort #13 One of the things that I love the most about Future Build is the pure heart from the organization that goes directly into guiding their students.  Thinking back to my first meeting with Future Build back in 2015, I remember how amazed I was with the energy that the class had.  The training these students go through while in Future Build runs several months at a time, teaching various construction and energy trade skills, so they've had an opportunity to bond together.  Each of the students join the program with their own story, but by the time they enter the classroom to learn from me, I am fortunate to be in front of students that had persevered through the long hours and days prior to my training. The serious students.  The committed to succeed.  Those with a positive attitude. It's these qualities that give instructors their success stories.  An organization has to have the proven capabilities (not just the means...

Coursera is offering a free course, Intro to Sustainability Coursera - Sustainability classes

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, effect...

Today I had the opportunity to attend the Sacramento Region Consortium that focused on the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program.  In short, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the Sacramento Region $1.5 million to create a regional sustainability plan for the six-county Sacramento region.  What I found most intriguing was that the consortium is a collaborative effort that can include anyone from the interested citizen to staff in local jurisdictions.  As far as business development is concerned, any organization that includes feedback from top to bottom (i.e. executive to front line employee) is destined for success.  It's a golden rule for effective communication and strategy implementation. But back to the program.  The initial meeting was designed to facilitate an understanding of the objectives, which includes the Transit Priority Area vision.  Imagine a community with optimal housing and employment ch...

Despite the capital invested in your education or transitional training, be prepared to enter the industry at the bottom of the pecking order.  No matter how strong of a game-changing attitude you may think you'll bring, understand that the hierarchical system of social organization in that company is going to ensure that your aspirations of coming in as top chicken will be de-feathered.  At least initially or until you’ve made enough coffee runs.  Corporate culture alone takes a period of saturation to understand.  Add in passion for environmental responsibility to that culture and you have one of the toughest organizational environments to penetrate if you don't support the vision.  In addition, the game has become ...still remains challenging as many career individuals with the very experience you desire to obtain have been displaced and are now fighting for the same position you're willing to do for free.  This only adds to the necessity ...

We grow up being told that education leads to job security and that job security determines direction.  While this may be true in some aspects, focusing only on job security will be your inhibitor. Many of you have made the decision to leave that comfort zone...  that hourly - that salary - that position  - that status.   Some of you have spent years studying for one industry only to find yourself in the green industry.  Now faced with the decision of whether or not to continue down your current path, you may be tempted to go back to something that you probably determined won't make you happy. I want to remind you of the importance of bringing yourself to the point of discovery, learning what your tolerance for adversity is and then pushing past it.  Job security is one thing.  Knowing what you're made of is another. It's been said that if you can go to bed at night knowing that you've learned something new that day, then you've allowed your...

When I was in telecommunications, there was nothing more fascinating than being part of cutting edge technology.  Part of the enjoyment while in the industry is being able to watch your industry to not only evolve, but to also be a major influence in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.  But that psychological theory was never a prominent thought in my own mind as I watched the progression of technology in the wireless industry slowly choke out the workforce that supported it. While working in a switching office between late '98 and early 2000, I recall the size of the switch rooms and the many rows of equipment required to provide communications to mobile subscribers.  Jump ahead 10 years and you'll find that technology has either eliminated that switching office or reduced the equipment down to a single box.  Less equipment, less headcount. I recently sat down with a very good friend of mine who was with me in the industry from the beginning of our careers in telecommu...

Every so often, I will share some of my dialogue between my classmates. It’s better to get a third perspective from my audience than to rely on who typed the last period. A classmate had asked, “Do you think society takes environmental matters seriously?” So, here is the argument behind their question. If society actually cared enough about the environment, there wouldn’t be so many challenges to get all the players to agree on at least moving towards the use of renewables and the application of sustainability. My response: “I would say that society and the current generations may not take the environmental matters seriously (or at least at levels necessary to make a drastic difference). Fortunately, as long as education exists, we have the opportunity to pass down knowledge to generations that may have no choice but to make a difference.” I compared this thought to the baby boomer’s adoption of the Internet. When the concept first became mainstream, many of the boomers rem...