GreenYour.com

Contemplating a career change that will keep you afloat financially and help buoy the planet? You may be able to make the switch with the skills you've got, but sometimes extra training or education is needed to nail the perfect eco job.

How to seek environmental training and education

• Try to green your current job. If you’re satisfied with your employer and position but can see a potential green shift you would like to make, ask if your employer would provide additional training or pay for coursework or credentials needed to move you from, say, manager to environmental manager or from a traditional electrician to one who can install a solar system.[1]

• Are you certifiable? Many environmental jobs require, or are enhanced by, certification of one kind or another. Arriving at an interview with a certification under your belt may give you the edge you need over another candidate. Most commonly, federal or state certifications are needed to work around hazardous materials,[2] to perform certain kinds of laboratory tests, or to operate certain equipment. You may need such certifications to work on brownfields, Superfund sites, with lead abatement, or with wastewater. Even if your job doesn't involve this kind of work, just to have access to some sites or parts of a company, you'll need this type of certification. Check with your state's department of natural resources, department of health, or environmental protection agency to find out if the job you'd like requires any certifications.[3] You may also want to look into certifications that aren't required, but again, may give you the upper hand. For instance, the University of Massachusetts, Boston offers a professional development certificate in Urban Landscape and Garden Development (that can be completed online), and the University of Northern Iowa offers a certificate in environmental health for students and professionals that delves into water quality, solid waste problems, air quality, and public health concerns. Look into certifications offered at local colleges and those farther afield that may have online certifications.

• Hit the books. Depending upon how much of a career change you want to make in your quest for a green job you may need to go back to school, at least part time. If getting an undergraduate degree is where you need to start, consider attending a college with an environmental studies program. The Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD) keeps an extensive list of its members that offer such programs. At the graduate level, an increasing number of business schools are incorporating environmentalism and social values into their graduate programs.[4] The Aspen Institute is a nonprofit organization that does a biennial survey of business schools called Beyond Grey Pinstripes that ranks innovative full-time MBA programs that assimilate social and environmental stewardship issues into their programs. And at a handful of schools you can earn the latest merging of business and green education, the "Green MBA". The Presidio School of Management in San Francisco focuses on sustainability with its MBA and Executive programs aimed at midcareer diploma completion.[5] The Bainbridge Institute's MBA in Sustainable Business is a two- or three-year, part-time program designed for working individuals.

• Unearth and uncover. Training and apprenticeship programs are often joint efforts between some combination of government, nonprofits, professional associations, corporations, and educational institutions, and you should be willing to investigate all those alleys to find what resources are available to help you find the job you want. For instance, Baltimore's B'more Green program that trains people to work in brownfields remediation is run by a nonprofit called Civic Works which has partnered with city, state, and federal agencies, private employers, and other nonprofit institutions.

• Go pro. Check out the websites of professional organizations in your green field of interest. They may have courses, programs, or certifications you can take that will help put the finishing touch on your resume. The US Green Building Council offers workshops and online courses in green building, as an example.

Seeking environmental training and education helps you go green because...

• It may give you the knowledge to get a green job. Those with green jobs seek to directly or indirectly protect the earth by reducing harmful impact on the environment, by trying to restore damage done to the earth,[6] or by promoting the appreciation or protection of the natural world.[7]
• If you're after environmental education, not for a career move but for your own edification, it may give you the know-how and desire to reduce your personal impact on the environment.

The recent shift of environmentalism from fringe to mainstream with ever-widening ripples into the business world has set the global scene for a green jobs boomlette, at the least, and a bonafide job boom at best.[8] The predictions are impressive, especially for cleaner energy fields. According to the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), the renewable energy industry has generated 8.5 million jobs with an estimated 40 million jobs to be created in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries by the year 2030. This will include not just in engineering, but jobs in management, construction, accounting, and manufacturing, as well.[9] "As the greening of business expands, it is filtering into every aspect of business, from procurement to marketing to human resources," notes Joel Makower, founder of GreenBiz.com.[10]

Opportunities exist at all levels for job seekers with the skills needed to take on a green job. For those jumping from a conventional career to an eco job, additional training in the form of certifications, apprenticeships, educational degrees or coursework, or on-the-job-training may be necessary. Green job training programs are popping up across the nation to fill the newly abundant "green collar jobs".[11] At the 2008 Advancing the New Energy Economy summit in San Francisco it was announced that there is a shortage of people in California to install solar panels and to work with renewable power sources at electric utilities.[12]

External links

• Net Impact A network of MBAs, graduate students, and professionals interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR), social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development, and environmental sustainability, brought together by this international nonprofit organization.
• Community Jobs In The Green Economy report by Urban Habitat and Apollo Alliance
• Green For All
• Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (CEDD) - I Am Green: Environmental and Conservation Careers Brochure Also check out the CEDD website.
• EnviroEducation.com
• National Registry of Environmental Professionals