In my last blog post on landing a job in renewable energy, I discussed the importance of obtaining training, especially hands-on training, to those interested in pursuing a career in solar electricity, wind energy, passive solar design, home energy efficiency and green building.

Remember, too, that you can learn a lot from a good book. In recent years, there’s been an outpouring of good books on the subject. I’ve spent the last decade writing on the subject to help fill the void.  If you’re interested in solar electricity, check out my newest book, Power from the Sun. If you are interested in small wind, check out Power from the Wind. If you are interested in green building or natural building, I’ve written a bunch on those subjects, too. But enough shameless self-promotion.

My second advice was to get a move on. In other words, get going, as there are many people just like you who are pursuing the same dream.  Get your training now.

But what else can you do?

Another important step toward finding employment is to get out and meet the professionals in the industry. Call for a brief appointment to talk with the owners of local renewable energy companies—installers, manufacturers, consultants, or whatever aspect you are interested in.

Remember, however, these are busy folks. Sometimes very busy. Try to make an appointment for a brief visit at their office. Don’t propose sitting down over a cup of coffee that you’ll buy—as many people do to me. (They want me to drive a half hour to meet them, chat for an hour over coffee, then drive home for a lousy cup of coffee!) Your $2 dollar cup of coffee won’t make up for the $100 to $200 we lose just getting to know with you.

So, call, ask for five minutes at their office at a time that’s convenient for them so you can introduce yourself. Bring an updated resume that lists the courses you’ve taken, especially installation courses. Bring a cup of coffee and a doughnut or a potted plant, perhaps.

Come well dressed and well groomed. Lead with a smile and a friendly hand shake. Don’t be pushy. Let the person know you are interested in a job and what your qualifications are. Point out your practical experience.

Remember, too, it’s not enough to say you’ve been interested in this field for 20 years. So have a million others. And, more important, why didn’t you get into the field 20 years ago like the guy or gal you’re talking too?

Long-standing interest always amuses me. Many of us have been in this field for a very long time, fighting crucial battles, earning next to nothing … we have the battle scars to prove it. And now all of a sudden, here you are, claiming this long-standing interest. It not only amuses me, it’s a bit irksome. I don’t know how others feel, but my guess is that it irks them a bit, too.

So, simply let your prospective employer know your profound interest in the field, what classes you’ve taken, what certificates you have obtained, and what hands-on training you’ve had.

And here’s a radical idea: If he or she says they’re not hiring right now, but maybe a few months, tell him or her you’d be interested in working as an unpaid intern for a month or two—if you can afford the time.

“I’ll work for nothing” demonstrates a profound interest. You’ll surely get noticed.  If the prospective employer agrees, you’ll learn a lot, too. If you work hard and appear to be a great employee, you may land a job at the end of your internship.

Besides meeting face-to-face with prospective employers, start attending national conferences on renewable energy like the American Solar Energy Society’s annual meeting. If you are interested in small wind, attend the small wind conference in Steven’s Point, Wisconsin in June each year.

More important, be sure to attend meetings of local renewable energy or green building groups, and be sure to attend their conferences. Shake hands, get to know the folks … you never know what might happen. You can easily locate renewable energy groups online. Check out your state chapter of the American Solar Energy Society as a starter. They’re listed on the ASES web site.  In my next blog, I’ll discuss the importance of certificates. Until then, happy job hunting.

I teach classes on renewable energy and green building at The Evergreen Institute, my educational center in east-central Missouri. I also teach through other organizations and institutions such as the University of Colorado’s continuing education program.

One trend I’ve noticed in recent years is a dramatic increase in the number of students interested in pursuing a career in renewable energy or home energy efficiency. A few years ago, only one or two students in my classes would raise their hands indicating they wanted to pursue a career in renewable energy. Now, it’s half my class — sometimes more!

One of the questions students invariably ask me is “How do I get a job in the industry?” I’ll discuss this topic in this blog and a few follow ups.

My immediate answer to this question is “Get as much education as possible — with as much hands on experience as possible, too.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to enroll in college. Many colleges and universities in fact, are only recently awakening to the fact that we need programs in renewable education — and are scrambling to set them up.

(Permit me a bit of soapbox time: It seems to me that colleges and universities, the bastions of forward thinking, are always the last to figure out important trends. As one who has taught at the college level for more than 30 years, it seems to me that administrators haven’t grasped the importance of environmental education or renewable energy until recently. Where have they been?  I know there are programs in environmental science and some in renewable energy, but they’re often fairly new and inadequately supported. Enough said.)

A far faster way to get up to speed is to sign up for courses on renewable energy at one of the main educational centers like ours of Solar Energy International (based in Carbondale, Colo. If you live in California, try the Solar Living Institute). In a few weeks time, spread out over six months to a year, you can get up to speed fairly quickly.

By all means, though, once you’ve completed the basic and intermediate-level courses, sign up for as many hands-on courses as possible. The theory and background material you’ll gain in “Intro to Solar Electricity,” even “Intermediate PV,” is great, and the knowledge you’ll accumulate will help immensely. But if you’re interested in working for a company that installs solar-electric or wind systems, you’ll need experience — as much as possible — to distinguish yourself from other candidates. Sign up for as many installation classes as possible. This will save your employer the cost and time required for on-the-job training.

That leads me to my second recommendation. If you are truly interested in landing a job in this field, get to it right away. You’re not alone.

As I noted earlier, there are a lot of people who have suddenly arrived at the conclusion that renewable energy is an idea whose time has come. So, get going on your course work now.

If there aren’t any classes right now, you can begin by reading. There are many good books on these topics, available through our bookstore (www.evergreeninstitute.org), your local bookstore and online.

In future blogs, I’ll discuss other tips on landing a job in the industry.

Are you trying to learn more about renewable energy and green building? If you are looking for related conferences or workshops, and especially if you are looking for professional training as a solar installer or dealer, be sure to check out the schedule for the Solar 2009 conference, an annual event held by the American Solar Energy Society. Here’s a description of the conference which will be held May 11-16, 2009 in Buffalo, N.Y.  Be sure to check out the opportunities for professional training provided by the Solar Success Training Event.

President Obama signed the $787 billion economic stimulus package today, and it includes a lot of green spending. An article in Grist says that a total of about $82 billion of that money will be used for green initiatives, including investing in renewable energy, energy efficiency, public transportation, improvements to the grid, and training for green jobs.

The hope is that by investing in green energy, both economic and environmental problems will be solved at the same time. Right now about 400,000 people work in the renewable energy industry in the United States, but that number is predicted to be in the millions in the near future. (Read 37 Million Green Jobs Are Possible.) An example of a source for green jobs is in the wind energy industry. According to the Worldwatch Institute, every megawatt of installed wind energy capacity creates 4.85 full-time jobs in the United States. Not bad, but let’s hope this stimulus package works.

There is a reason to stay hopeful about the economy even though people across the country continue to get laid off. Last week, the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) released a detailed study on the reality of green jobs. It reports that up to 37 million jobs from renewable energy can be found in the United States by 2030. Of course, these jobs will only open up if the necessary leadership, research, development and public policy falls into place. For now, read the report here. And maybe you’ll be able to sleep a little easier tonight.

President-elect Barack Obama traveled to Capitol Hill Monday to gauge congressional support of his proposed $775 billion economic stimulus package. He met with Senate and House leaders from both sides of the aisle.

The stimulus plan includes billions in tax cuts for workers and businesses and billions in tax incentives for job creation.

The president-elect urged Congress to pass the stimulus plan within one month.

The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) is asking its supporters to mail their Senators and Representatives a letter requesting that the stimulus plan invest in green jobs.

The ELPC has a sample letter for supporters to copy and mail. The letter says, “As my representative, I ask you keep the stimulus clean by investing in public transit, passenger rail and smart growth solutions ...”

The letter encourages Congress to invest in green transportation rather than new roads, creating new jobs while ending the country’s dependence on oil. Of the $775 billion package, more than $100 billion is tax incentives for businesses with job creation. The ELPC is asking that those new jobs be green.

Visit the House and Senate websites to find the addresses of your Representative and Senators and tell them what you think about the proposed stimulus package.

If you’re interested in learning more about green-collar jobs, here is a list of people that are already working in the renewable energy sector. The Union of Concerned Scientists recently started its new Web feature, “Faces of Renewable Energy,” to provide profiles of Americans across the country that are already heavily involved in the clean energy industry. It just proves that green-collar jobs are already here and really can help boost our economy. If you’re looking for a job in the renewable energy sector, here’s an article from E Magazine that gives you a great place to start. Or read Announcing the Launch of Green Jobs Now for more information.

Comment below and let us know of any green-collar job opportunities that you’re aware of.

While the Senate wrestles to construct some kind of utilitarian financial bailout, economists and political activists have moved out of the Wall Street box – and into the green house.

With one-seventh the money it looks like it will take to bail out the economy (so $100 billion), an investment in green power would produce nearly twice the amount of jobs as the mortgage bailout would.

These figures come from a study by two economists at the University of Massachusetts, Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier.

An article by Greenpeace media director, Glenn Hurowitz, expanded on the study.

“Instead of golden parachutes for CEOs,” he writes, “the government could finance America's transition from an oil- and fossil-fuel-dependent economy into one run completely on clean energy.”

In addition to offsetting carbon, Hurowitz says a green-power stimulus plan would offset the jobs lost by the economic crisis and the rising price of fuel that is driving so many companies out of business.

He went on to say that a green stimulus plan could generate conservation by creating more national parks and restoring wetlands; foster technological breakthroughs; reduce the price of fuel – as less people will be so dependent upon it; and solve what he considers to be an even greater financial burden – global warming.

The financial costs of the effects of global warming equates to about $3.8 trillion of the U.S. budget, and globally between 5 percent and 20 percent of the economic output, Hurowitz says.

In the article, Hurowitz said big businesses relying on U.S. taxpayers to bail them out would suffer, but they’d be replaced by innovative, environmentally-conscious companies that would “get not only America but also Wall Street back on its feet.”

PHOTO BY ISTOCKPHOTO

The growing demand for renewable energy presents a tremendous opportunity for the creation of new jobs; and Green Jobs Now is hoping that this Saturday, Sept. 27, you'll help spread the word that people are more than ready for new green-collar jobs and the more sustainable economy they can help create. Get in on the action with Green Jobs Now: National Day of Action to Build a New Economy, an initiative to inspire and assist everyday people to stage and participate in grassroots events supporting the creation of green jobs in the United States.

"Right now, there are millions of people ready to work and countless jobs to be done that will strengthen our economy at home. There are thousands of buildings that need to be weatherized, solar panels to be installed, and wind turbines to be erected. There are communities that need local and sustainable food and people ready to farm the crops. There are public transit systems and smart electricity grids in need of engineers and electricians. Americans are ready to build the new economy. It's time to invest in saving the planet and the people. It's time for green jobs now!" — Van Jones and the Green Jobs Now Team 

You can learn more about green-collar jobs, find a Green Jobs Now event near you, and more by checking out the Frequently Asked Questions page. No events in your neighborhood? Host your own, it can be anything from a living room discussion or house party to a public event with music, readings and food.