Green Careers for Dummies (ISBN - 0470529601)

363 Pages·2021·5.61 MB·English

Carol McClelland, PhD
Founder and Executive Director,
Green Career Central

Learn to:
• Find a green career that taps into your
passions and qualifications

• Immerse yourself in your green target
industry

• Play to your strengths in the green
career arena

• Harness the Web to launch your green
job search

Green Careers

Making Everything Easier!™

Open the book and find:

• Advice on whether a green career
is right for you

• What it takes to thrive in a green
economy

• Ways to green your current job

• Plain-English definitions of
industry-specific terminology

• Tips on recognizing industry
opportunities and threats

• Guidance on greening up your
resume

• Helpful advice for interviews

• Great green career resources

Carol McClelland, PhD, is the founder and Executive Director of Green
Career Central, a full-service online resource center dedicated to helping
professionals, students, and career counselors make sense of the green
economy and the green job market.

$19.99 US / $23.99 CN / £14.99 UK

ISBN 978-0-470-52960-7

Business & Economics/Careers

Go to Dummies.com®
for videos, step-by-step photos,
how-to articles, or to shop!

Make a good living in the
emerging green economy

The green economy is just now in its infancy. The transition
from business-as-usual to a new sustainable economy is
opening up a wide range of opportunities that are likely to
continue for years to come as new clean technologies,
policies, and standards are adopted. Making sense of this new
economy can be tricky, but if you’re committed to finding
a career that will have a positive impact on the planet, this
friendly guide gives you everything you need to land the
job of your dreams.

• Discovering the green frontier — learn how to navigate the
world of green careers and get the inside scoop on the green
economy

• Finding your green focus — set your sights on the green career
that matches your interests, highlights your strengths, and
leverages your experience and education

• Exploring careers in green industries — get a handle on the huge
variety of job titles in the more than 50 industries that make
up the green economy, from managing natural resources and
generating clean energy to policy making and environmental
education

• Using green job search 2.0 techniques — harness the Web to
grow your green network, advance your green education, and
claim your competitive advantage

• Activating your green job search — discover how to target the right
eco-friendly companies that match your goals, find openings for
your talents, and take your green career to the next level

Green Careers

McClelland

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by Carol McClelland, PhD

Green Careers

FOR
DUMmIES

‰

Green Careers For Dummies®

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit-
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2009941922

ISBN: 978-0-470-52960-7

Manufactured in the United States of America. This book is printed on recycled paper.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Carol McClelland, PhD, is one of the nation’s leading green career experts.
As the executive director of Green Career Central, Carol is driven by three
passions: guiding people to discover fulfilling careers aligned with their
values, learning about innovations that enable people to live, work, and play
more sustainably, and marveling at the inspiring wisdom of nature. Founded
in March 2007, Green Career Central is an online resource center commit-
ted to clarifying the ever-evolving world of green career possibilities. Green
Career Central provides career guidance, coaching, and training for:

U Professionals who want to change careers or find a way to use their

existing skills within the green economy.

U Students who are committed to starting their careers with a green focus.

U Career development professionals who must become familiar with the

new economy to guide their clients and students to their career goals.

Carol’s highly acclaimed email newsletter, Green Career Tip of the Week,
and the Green Career Central Blog are valuable resources for those seeking
to understand the green economy. She has appeared on U.S. News Online,
Planet Green’s Focus Earth, hosted by ABC reporter Bob Woodruff, and radio
talk shows throughout the U.S. She is a highly sought-after speaker at leading
green industry events including the Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference Job
Expo, the Solar Living Institute’s Green Career Conference, and career coun-
seling events such as the International Career Development Conference and
Career Management Alliance Conference.

Carol received her PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Purdue
University. Her books on career change and life transitions include Your
Dream Career For Dummies (2005) and The Seasons of Change (1998).

The green economy is evolving. To stay up-to-date explore these links.

U Discover the latest industry trends and updated book links: www.green
careercentral.com/updates

U Sign up for the Green Career Tip of the Week, a free email newsletter, and
receive your copy of Carol’s 7 Steps to Your Green Career audio: www.
greencareercentral.com/7stepsaudio

U Explore options for career development professionals who are work-

ing solo or in a career center: www.greencareercentral.com/
counselors

U Contact Carol: www.greencareercentral.com/contactus

Dedication

To my parents and my brother, Tom, for the times we shared as a family:
camping throughout California, road trips to National Parks in the western
U.S. and Canada, cross-country camping trip for the Bicentennial, time in
the woods of Dover, New Jersey, and Fourth Lake in upstate New York. I will
never forget the ad hoc biology labs and physics discussions!

To Kent Fields, my husband and co-founder of Green Career Central, for our
shared passion for nature: trips to Yosemite, Glacier National Park for our
engagement, Northern California coast for our wedding, Death Valley for the
big bloom, and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Canada. Where shall we
go next to experience and savor 360 degrees of natural beauty?

Author’s Acknowledgments

Every conversation I have about the green economy, whether with a Green
Career Central member, a green career colleague, a career counselor, a work-
shop participant, or a member of the media, inspires me to continue clarify-
ing the unfolding green economy. I’m honored to have the opportunity.

My acquisitions editor, Lindsay Lefevere, had impeccable timing! I started
writing soon after the 2009 stimulus package was enacted. Thanks go to my
agent, Carol Susan Roth, and Marty Nemko for the roles they played as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Corbin Collins, my Wiley project editor,
and Jeana Wirtenberg, our technical editor, to create the book you now hold.
I’m indebted to Rebecca Kieler, Richard Hewitt, Christine Hertzog and Lauren
Delp for their contributions. A huge thank you goes to the Wiley team for
work in transforming my manuscript into a book in the marketplace.

So many names, so little space! I’m incredibly grateful to my team for keep-
ing Green Career Central growing while I wrote: Susan Sullivan, Tessa Valle,
Donna Gunter, Angela Giffin, Lauren Delp, Ellen Silva, and Kent Fields. I’m
also blessed by colleagues and friends who have offered compelling ideas
and heartfelt support since the early days of Green Career Central: Lauren
Sullivan, Susan Reid, Kristi Breisch, Cheryl Esposito, Samantha Hartley,
Laurie Taylor, Lisa Morrison, Karin Marcus, Lynn Strand Marks, Linda
Lenore, Janice Summers, Mudge Kennedy, and Mitch Slomiak.

Kent and I started dating the week I signed my first For Dummies deal, so he’s
a veteran. I so appreciate his dedication to keeping me at the top of my game
while also tending to our household, our young goldendoodle, Aspen, and
tasks associated with our business. I’m incredibly grateful. I love you!

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com.
For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974,
outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and
Media Development

Editor: Corbin Collins

Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Lefevere

Assistant Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney

Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

Technical Editor: Jeana Wirtenberg

Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich

Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor:
Carmen Krikorian

Editorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggar

Cover Photos: ©iStock

Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Katherine Crocker

Layout and Graphics: Ashley Chamberlain,
Joyce Haughey

Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell,
Bonnie Mikkelson

Indexer: Claudia Bourbeau

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents at a Glance

Introduction ................................................................ 1

Part I: Discovering the Green Frontier............................ 7

Chapter 1: The New World of Green Careers.................................................................9
Chapter 2: Inside the Green Economy...........................................................................17
Chapter 3: Staking Out a Green Career .........................................................................31
Part II: Finding Your Green Focus ............................... 41

Chapter 4: Pursuing Your Interests: Finding Green Topics That Engage You.........43
Chapter 5: Playing to Your Strengths in the Green Careers Arena ...........................53
Chapter 6: Setting Your Green Career Goals................................................................67
Part III: Exploring Careers in Green Industries.............. 81

Chapter 7: Jobs in Caring for the Earth .......................................................................83
Chapter 8: Managing Natural Resources ....................................................................101
Chapter 9: Angling for Jobs in Alternative Energy.....................................................123
Chapter 10: Careers in Rebuilding the Infrastructure...............................................145
Chapter 11: Working to Shape the Green Economy ..................................................167
Chapter 12: Inspiring and Motivating More Sustainable Actions ...........................181
Chapter 13: Providing Green Products and Experiences .........................................193
Part IV: Using Green Job Search 2.0 Techniques ........ 205

Chapter 14: Getting to Know Your Target Industry..................................................207
Chapter 15: Connecting with the Green Movement ..................................................219
Chapter 16: Advancing Your Green Education ..........................................................239
Chapter 17: Claiming Your Competitive Advantage..................................................255
Part V: Activating Your Green Job Search .................. 267

Chapter 18: Targeting the Right Eco-Friendly Companies........................................269
Chapter 19: Finding Openings for Your Talents .......................................................283
Chapter 20: Taking Your Green Career to the Next Level ........................................299
Part VI: The Part of Tens .......................................... 307

Chapter 21: Ten Great Green Career Resources .......................................................309
Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Green Your Current Job....................................................317
Index ...................................................................... 325