In the current economy it’s easy to fall into a “wait and see” stance with your career. You may want to wait until you see more signs of growth before you decide to commit to finding your own green career. Although this stance may feel safe in the moment, it may be keeping you from:
- Finding opportunities that already exist in the green economy, – Discovering opportunities in your current job, and – Creating opportunities based on your knowledge, skills, and experience.
The green economy really is making strides, even if traditional media sources aren’t giving it a lot of coverage.
One caveat: Much of the political and economic news you see about the green economy is focusing on Green Collar Jobs: blue collar trade jobs that contribute to green efforts. Although this information is helpful in understanding the green economy, it doesn’t tell the entire story. What most of these news stories miss is the Green Professional Jobs: white collar jobs that contribute to green and sustainable efforts.
Green Professional Jobs may not have “green” job titles. Not all of them are in the renewable energy industries that are getting some press attention these days. You may need to do your homework to sort out where the green professional jobs are in your area. Though you may not be hearing about them at this point, they are out there. More and more companies are stepping up to face their own sustainability, or lack there of. In a recent Green Economy Post article (http://greeneconomypost.com/corporate-sustainability-reporting-increased-dramatically-3608.htm) a new study by Global Reporting Initiative (http://www.globalreporting.org/Home) reports that there’s been a 46% increase in the number of global companies providing sustainability reports, from 685 in 2007 to 1000 in 2008. If you want to dig into the list of companies who are providing reports, download the spreadsheet report via link on this page. (http://www.globalreporting.org/GRIReports/GRIReportsList/)
For now, take heart that we continue to see more and more evidence each day that the green economy is happening. (You might want to subscribe to a few blogs so that you see daily evidence of this trend. It helps to get the reinforcement that investments, innovation and growth really are happening on a daily basis.)
Opportunities Do Exist
As you see more evidence that there is movement in the green economy, you’ll recognize that it is time to take action. You don’t have to wait until the green economy is in full motion to act. Be proactive now. Take an active role in our country’s transition into the green economy. Opportunities do exist. They just may not look like you expect them to look.
- Look for opportunities in the Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management sectors. These industries are quite mature and thanks to the changing climate are making more and more moves toward innovation. Organizations and governmental agencies in these sectors tend to be fairly stable.
- Take a role in a start up company. This path is likely to carry a bit more risk due to the nature of the early stage of these companies. At the same time, the work is exciting and the impact you have may be quite impressive.
- Track the move of large, existing companies toward green initiatives. Although the entire company may not be green, you may be able to help the company in their efforts to become more sustainable. The good news about working for a company in this category is you can generally get a sense of the culture and the stability of the company before you start work.
- Contribute to the creation of policies and regulations for the new economy. Whether you want to work at a local, regional, state, or federal level, there are opportunities in this arena. You may work in a governmental agency, an advocacy group, or a local government department.
- Think about options in your current workplace. Are there ways you could green your current job responsibilities? Does your company have a green initiative that you could take part in? Whether you take it upon yourself to find ways to green your work, or you become part of a company wide initiative, you are gaining priceless experience that can help you make the move into your next green career.
Out-of-the-Box Option
If you are committed, motivated, and inspired to contribute to the move to a greener, more sustainable economy, you may want to consider taking the steps to create your own position either as a consultant, contract worker, short term employee, or full-time employee.
Don’t get bogged down by what form the job might take. The key is to get yourself in the door to make a contribution that gets the attention of members of the management team. Whether they hire you as an employee, retain your services as a consultant, or they give you a stellar recommendation you can use to land your next gig, either way you are further along than you are right now.
The key to creating your own position is understanding your target industry inside and out. You must understand how the industry is structured, what opportunities they have as well as the challenges they face. Although there’s a learning curve involved with this option, you may be able to short circuit the process if you can tap into an industry or function that is in some way related to your previous work experience. Take a hard look at the work experience you have. Everything you’ve done before gives you perspective, insights, and innovative solutions. Leverage that information as you scan your new target industry for problems you can help solve.
Begin by thinking about ways you can help the company save money. With the current economic situation, I can’t imagine a company turning away someone who has an idea to save the company a sizable amount of money. Business owners aren’t crazy! If an idea makes sense from a business standpoint, they’ll consider it.
- Do you know, or can you come up with, a way to cut costs for energy, fuel, or water? Most likely the solution you discover will be green and help the company become more sustainable. Even if the company doesn’t have an initiative to move in this direction, showing them the numbers may open their eyes to a new, more effective way of doing business.
- Do you have ideas about ways to reuse waste, sell waste, or reduce waste within the company’s manufacturing process or service? Solutions in this category may save the company money in terms of waste disposal while also cutting costs for new materials.
You don’t have to start with the biggest company in your area. Small companies are looking for ways to save money too. Look at the companies in your town or city to find opportunities. Is there a solution that could translate well across different kinds of companies? If so, then your opportunity potential just doubled or tripled.
Will this method of finding work be easy and quick, and provide steady results? Probably not, unless you have an idea you’ve already proven. You will need to invest some time, energy, and resources to research an industry, function, or process. Then you’ll need to find ways to test your idea to prove that it works. You may need to start small and then step into larger companies with your case studies and proof. By moving in this direction you are gaining valuable skills, experiences, and accomplishments that will continue to open doors as more and more companies become sustainable.
Green Career Expert Carol McClelland, PhD, is the author of the forthcoming book, Green Careers For Dummies and founder of Green Career Central, a membership website with useful programs, 400+ pages of effective, targeted information to help you identify your green niche, find a green job, start a business or further your education. Visit http://www.GreenCareerCentral.com to request our free report – “Six Strategies to Find Your Green Career”
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