If you are trying to plug into the green economy as a business owner or a green employee, I encourage you to read Kevin Doyle’s recent Hire Definition post on the GRIST blog. As the President of Green Economy, a Boston-based training, consulting, and research firm and coauthor of The ECO Guide to Careers That Make a Difference: Environmental Work for a Sustainable World, Kevin provides us with the best “State of the Green Job” summary I’ve seen.
If you are looking for clear-cut data about the number of green jobs
and which industries provide the most green jobs, you are likely to be
a bit frustrated by Kevin’s assessment of green employment. Much like the recent GreenBiz’s State of Green Business report I wrote about recently on Sustainablog.org, Kevin’s post highlights more questions than it answers.
The fact is the green economy is too new to quantify in any meaningful way.
Not having clearly understood definitions of the variables that need to
be measured is the biggest obstacle to solid statistics.
As time progresses, the infrastructure of the green economy will take shape. We’ll eventually know how to categorize jobs, define terms, and measure the impact a job or a company has on the environment. In the meantime, we are where we are.
I agree with Kevin’s advice to the job seeker. Don’t wait for crystal clear definitions and well thought out statistics. Begin your quest for your green career now.
I’ll take the advice one step further. Use your
own passions and interests to fuel your quest. Immerse yourself in the
industry that interests you most. Prepare yourself by reading,
interviewing, listening, and doing as much as you can in your target
field. Leverage your personal career history by applying your expertise
to help your profession/industry move in a green direction. Your
expertise will help you see the opportunities that you are
well-positioned to solve.
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