NC State of Business

A Green Job is any job whose primary purpose surrounds “lessening the environmental impacts” of man’s activities or products – on any of our environmental resources (air, water, soils, etc). They can range from something very technical – such as engineering a photovoltaic solar cell – TO – a less technically demanding areas such as landscaping a yard to minimize erosion.

In regards to the new administration and potential stimulus money- green jobs means - ENERGY – renewable energy, alternative energy , energy cost reductions, energy efficiency improvements and other energy related aspects. President Obama, who calls them “Green Collar Jobs”, has promised to spend $150 billion over 10 years to create 5 million new green-collar jobs.(1) These may be old numbers as the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) said “The $787 billion federal stimulus package signed into law Tuesday [2/27/09] was expected to mean more than $163 million in spending on North Carolina energy efficiency projects in the next two years, money that could pump new life into businesses that offer energy alternatives.” (3) NCSEA has just completed a “Green Jobs” industry survey listing the current # of green jobs in NC at 2,144 – although future expansion may create a total of 7500. Employees for some of these jobs arrive with the necessary skills, while others learn those skills on the job (more info)

So what are the Green – Energy related jobs? They could include working in systems such as :
• Wind turbines
• Photovoltaics
• Green buildings, insulation measures
• Alternative / Renewable Energies (Hydro, Solar, Geothermal, Biomass/wood, etc)
• Public transit & others

Career paths that would prepare someone for this type of work could be engineering degrees such as engineering (mechanical, electrical, materials, etc) or perhaps a more vocational / technician education for the manufacture, service & maintain these systems.

Another aspect of of the green collar jobs – maybe as it relates to global warming and climate control. EPA is looking at mandating Green House Gas (GHG) reporting rules for large companies. Along with these rules, companies may soon start participating in Green House Gas “Cap and Trade” brokering as a means to meet GHG emission requirements . Green Jobs that are involved in these programs – may include Air Quality Scientists and Engineers (Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Meterological Sciences, etc) OR even someone trained in stock market/ commodities trading (Business Administration degree)

You can categorize environmental carreers into the type of work as follows:
- Environmental Consulting (Air, Water, Waste, Soils and Groundwater, etc)
- Laboratory and Field Testing
- Waste Handling and Treatment Facilities
- Regulatory Agencies (US EPA, NC DENR, Town and County Governments)
- Manufacturers (Environmental Coordinator, Management, Measurement Technicans, etc)
- Sales (green product sales and marketing
- Green Construction (sustainable building materials, Leed Certification (Leasdership in Energy and Environmental Design)

Another way to look at Green Jobs is … what media (solid, liquid or gaseous) does the job work in.
• Solid media typically works with either Solid Waste or Hazardous Waste. Municipal waste landfills and recycling sciences. What about Geology and the science of soils, minerals, oil, earthquakes, etc.
• Liquid media experts are primarily concerned with any water quality professions
• Air careers can be about industrial emissions and control OR maintaining high quality air shed. If the job is related to air, you can bet there is a large aspect of regulatory compliance involved
Biological Systems including Animals, Plants, Ecosystems, Population Genetics, Man-made impacts on natural systems, others

Figure 2: NCSEA's Understanding Green Jobs

One of the most fundamental green jobs would be those who are working to maintain water quality. This topic area undoubtedly encompasses more fields – than any other type of Environmental Science / Engineering. Types of work could range from maintaining high quality rivers and lakes (Water Shed scientist, Surface Water Quality experts, etc) – to those working with industrial, municipal water and wastewater treatment equipment (Environmental Engineering, etc). In this vain NCSU has several specialties as follows:
• The Biological and Agricultural Engineering - Water Quality Group - dealing primarily with non-point source water quality (urban runoff, agricultural & livestock related water issues, etc.
• The Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) of the UNC [system}. This is actually located at NCSU and is staffed by NCSU faculty and staff
• The Water resources and Environmental Engineering group out of the NCSU department Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering – is a graduate program & seminar series dealing strictly in the engineering aspects of water quality

Each of NCSU’s 10 Colleges may have some type of have environmental or “green” career path. However, there are only several – that focus entirely on environmental . These are shown below(2):

1. College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (CALs)
• Environmental Sciences - Economic Policy
• Environmental Sciences - Soil Sciences
• Environmental Sciences – Ecology
• Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
• Natural resources
• Biological and Agricultural Engineering (joint CALS & COE administration)
• Others (many others)
2. College of Design (CD)
• Environmental Design in Architecture
3. College of Education (CED)
• Science Education
• Technology Education
4. College of Engineering (COE)
• Biological Engineering, Environmental Engineering
• Chemical Engineering - Green Engineering
• Civil Engineering - Water Resources and Environmental Engineering specialty
• Environmental Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering (energy related)
• Others (many others)
5. College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS)
• Anthropology
• Leadership in the Public Sector
6. College of Management (COM)
• none
7. College of Natural Resources (CNR)
• Forestry & Env Resources - Environmental Technology
• Forestry & Env Resources - Fisheries & WIldlife
• Forestry & Env Resources - Forest Management
• Forestry & Env Resources - Natural Resources Ecosystem Assessment
• Forestry & Env Resources - Natural Resources Policy & Administration
• Forestry & Env Resources - Watershed Hydrology
• Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management
8. College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (CPMS)
• Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) - Marine Sciences w concentrations in Biological Oceanography; Chemistry; Geology; Meteorology; Physics
• MEAS - Natural Resources (Marine and Coastal Resources)
• MEAS - Earth Sciences
• MEAS - Atmospheric Sciences
• MEAS – geology
• MEAS - meteorology (Marine Science Conc)
• MEAS - Environmental Science - Concentrations in Air Quality; Geology; Statistics
9. College of Textiles (COT)
• None listed (several degrees include environmental topics)
10. College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)
• None Listed (several graduate degrees include environmental topics)

What type of Green Job are you looking for??????

REFERENCES
(1) http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1809506,00.html
(2) http://www.ncsu.edu/esnr/resources/index.html
(3) http://energync.org/media/Green%20jobs%20in%20NC%20stimulus.pdf