The Greening of the Job Market

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to find a better paying job? If you are going for the “green,” consider a green job!

Disappointed by America’s continued flagging unemployment, President Obama is pushing for new legislation that will expand government funding for clean technology jobs.

The proposal, as reported here by MSNBC, would give $2.3 billion in tax credits to companies that make clean technologies.

Even before the Obama Administration’s newest push, the United States Conference of Mayors said in 2009 that green jobs are one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S. They predicted an additional 4.2 million new green jobs by the end of the decade. Not only will existing occupations be “greened”, they said, but as many as 12 new occupations will also be created as a result of the new green agenda.

Other environmental experts are even more optimistic, predicting a jump to 40 million green jobs over the next twenty years. If that prediction pans out, one of our every four American workers would be employed in a green job.

Whether the more conservative estimates are right or not, one thing is clear: The future is looking rather green.

For more on greening your job search, you might want to read my post on the development of green collar jobs and where to find green jobs. You might also like my post on green retraining programs.

Have you applied for any green energy jobs? How are those pastures truly greener? Leave me your experiences in the comments section!