Hey, news flash, that ever-endearing millennial generation – they just want to make a difference. But being the living embodiment of a “The More You Know” PSA just might be a little tougher than originally thought.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, two of the fastest growing jobs in the country over the next decade will be solar panel installers and wind turbine technicians. This is seemingly a perfect fit for this group, but there’s a catch.
While these are the fastest growing industrial careers, they will combine to create just under 18,000 new jobs over the next ten years. This pales in comparison to the two million manufacturing jobs that could remain unfilled due to a lack of technical know-how.
Just to offer a little more perspective, the Foxconn plant that is scheduled to be up and running in Wisconsin by 2020 could create more jobs than the 11,900 solar photovoltaic installer positions expected to open up. And Amazon just announced that they’ll be adding more Whole Foods jobs next week than the 5,800 additions that anticipated for the wind turbine technician corps.
The irony here, is that one of the reasons these ‘more meaningful’ jobs are less plentiful is that improvements in fuel efficiency have driven oil supply up and prices down – making solar panels and wind turbines less appealing and not as cost-effective.
To some extent, cleaner cars are hindering renewable energy.
Additionally, mechanical engineering jobs in the oil industry, such as derrick operator, are forecast to increase by 25 percent or more – creating nearly 150,000 new jobs that average about $45,000 in annual pay, or about $5,000 less than the greener alternative.
