green-collar jobs
Sustainability Focused Careers Workshop
Image: Tim Patterson via Flickr
Peter was quick to make the point that the idea of a “sustainability job” is more complex than one might first think. There are plenty of sustainability focused jobs and career paths, but sustainability is rarely tangible enough to be a product in and of itself. Rather, sustainability is an issue of systemics. As such, it’s important to recognize that job seekers are likely to be looking at the market from a much wider scope when looking to break into a sustainability based career path. So many jobs can fall into the description of “sustainability related”, everything from green-living businesses, tech, green finance and investing, events, higher education, government, and food just to name a few. The point is that sustainability is something that threads through just about all career paths in one way or another. Instead of looking for a job in outright sustainability, or even a “green-collar job”, people should instead be looking for a sustainability related career, one that supports a variety of values and puts your strongest skills to good use. › Continue reading
Green Jobs
image: flickr user OregonDOT
In today’s current economic situation, there has been a lot of hope (and hype) inspired by what’s being called “green-collar jobs”. This self described new industry would appear to be the much needed solution to not only the depressingly high unemployment rates, but also the need for alternate energy sources and even a more general, cultural environmental paradigm shift. But what is the real situation when it comes to the green job market today? What even qualifies as a “green collar job”? It’s sometimes all too easy to fall for perhaps over emphasized, environmentally significant buzzwords. Recognizing this, let’s start with a couple definitions.
In a Time article, What Is A Green-Collar Job, Exactly, Phil Angelides (chair of the green employment focused coalition, Apollo Alliance) defined it as a job that pays decent wages and benefits that can support a family, a job that is part of a real career path with potential for advancement, and a job that reduces waste and pollution and benefits the environment. Personally, I prefer Green Collar Blog‘s wider definition of “full-time, part-time, or internship opportunities that provide a social or environmental benefit. These jobs can be in the public, private, or non-profit sector and include jobs in areas such as energy efficiency, green building, natural resource management, recycling, and renewable energy.”
The Green Collar Blog definition includes a broader view of green, including sustainability and corporate social responsibility type jobs. It really all comes down to an argument over what the real definition of “green” is, but let’s save that for another blog. › Continue reading
