Although it’s only in the past few years that solar power and alternative energy have been in the news, solar (or photovoltaic, PV) has been around for decades. In fact, cutting-edge science institutions like NASA have been utilizing solar PV for a very long time.
Today, however, the explosion of interest and new applications for PV has meant a huge increase in the demand for solar training and those who can utilize that training in green collar careers. In fact, many future jobs will probably be related to or directly in photovoltaics.
Current careers in the construction trades, welding and fabrication, contracting and building professions, architectural design, electronics, and more are all well-suited to moving quickly into solar training for a new career related to their current one. In fact, it is these jobs that will see the largest number of green collar moves in the near future.
Right now, many roofers and related construction workers are finding better wages, more work, and year-round employment by switching to solar panel installation for homes and businesses. These enterprising workers are finding better job stability, faster growth, and many other benefits by gaining the solar training they need to quickly change their career focus.
University students in their last year or just emerging from courses are finding that by re-focusing their academics from traditional degrees to emphasize solar training and PV focus, they can more easily find employment and gain more lucrative and rewarding careers.
One of the fastest-growing areas of the solar field is in grid-tied PV design and implementation. While many traditional electricians and engineers have the knowledge to do many things with the power grid on local and large scales, few have the solar training to focus that towards the emerging PV at a grid scale.
The opportunities in solar power and related fields are huge and growing rapidly. Those who are getting the solar training now to grab those opportunities will be the ones prospering in the future.