Wind energy and the job market
Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the United States. More than thirty-four states now have local wind turbines connected to their central power grids. Turbine farm and plant wind power increased 21% in 2007 alone and the Department of Energy suggests that 20% of our overall electricity supply could come from the natural breezes by 2030. As a result of a shifting economy that relies less on foreign-imported oil and more on homegrown, natural resources renewable energy, the jobs wind energy creates will be plentiful in the upcoming years.
According to the American Wind Energy Association, there are 60,000 Americans enjoying jobs that wind energy has created. With 10,000 or more jobs being added each year, it’s no wonder that the 15 spots at Cerro Coso Community College’s “Wind Technology Boot Camp” course filled up within a few hours. The Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina offers “Small Wind Initiative Training Workshops” and there are students who can get their Consortium for Education in Renewable Energy Technology certification from Oakland Community College (Bloomfield Hills, MI), Brevard Community College (The Dalles, OR), Madison Area Technical College (Madison, WI), the University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI), Solar Energy International (Carbondale, CO) or the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (Custer, WI). For more in-depth skill building, degree programs in wind energy alternative power can be found at the Texas Tech University Wind Science and Engineering Research Center, the University of Massachusetts Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the University of Utah Wind Energy Research Program, MIT’s Laboratory for Energy and the Environment and the Illinois Institute of Technology Energy and Sustainability Institute, to name a few. A complete list of schools that offer training can be found at www.windustry.org.
Southwest Wind Power, General Electric and Siemens are two of the biggest jobs wind energy producers in the country. Southwest offers a “friendly, flexible working environment” and is in search of candidates who are “detail oriented, able to multi-task and are highly organized,” not to mention proficient with computers and able to work full-time Monday through Friday. General Electric employs 300,000 people and was ranked as one of Fortune Magazine’s “most admired” companies. They offer many positions for college students and those just getting started, as well as advanced jobs renewable energy positions. They have openings in Washington for program managers/government relations, but also have opportunities overseas for design engineers in China, research engineers in India and power electronics specialists in Germany. Siemens employs 66,000 people nationwide and offers “world-class benefits.” Currently, they have offerings in Florida, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Washington and Colorado.
As of May 2009, the salaries for jobs wind energy has created are rather impressive. At the low end, there are operator trainees and administrative technicians making $28,000, account specialists making $33,000, site managers and accountants making $47,000. In the middle there are managers making $54,000, public affairs specialists making $56,000, electronic engineers making $57,000 and civil engineers making $58,000. At the high end there are electrical engineers starting at $63,000, project managers making $75,000 and senior structural engineers making $75,000. These generators wind power salary estimates comes from Simply Hired and PayScale, two sites where interested applicants may find more information about available jobs. In a time when so many high-paying jobs have been lost, these jobs renewable energy provides are truly a breath of fresh air.
