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Top Green Jobs During the Recession

Green Dream Jobs Reports on Top Green Job Titles, Top Cities for Green Employment

Top Green Jobs During the Recession

Green Dream Jobs Reports on Top Green Job Titles, Top Cities for Green Employment

Published 10-13-09

Submitted by SustainableBusiness.com

Green Dream Jobs and green workforce development consultant Jim Cassio released data that shows the top green job titles posted by employers and in which cities over the past year - during the recession.

Although a plethora of studies show the potential for green jobs going forward, many note the dearth of data on current green jobs in the U.S. economy. Green Dream Jobs, online since 1996, collects concrete historical and current data on the job titles employers are actually looking to fill.

"The leading job tiles show the breadth of green positions across the economy," says Rona Fried, Ph.D., CEO of SustainableBusiness.com, which runs Green Dream Jobs. "Most people think of energy auditing and renewable energy as green jobs, but leading non-profit organizations are major employers, and people needed to run projects and analyze data are in demand, as well as those in sales and business development. Engineers are also in demand for renewable energy operations and even in this economy, we're still seeing many job openings in green building."

"The data also point to the variety of skill levels employers seek - from executive skills as Executive Director of green non-profits (NGOs), to mid-level skills associated with analysis, project development and managerial positions, to entry level skills for positions like Administrative Assistant," notes Jim Cassio.

Interestingly, the most frequently keywords used by job seekers to find job openings on Green Dream Jobs match many of the available positions: sustainability; climate change;
wind, solar, construction manager, architectural designer, executive director, naturalist.

The top city for green employment over the past year is Washington DC, reflecting the many executive director positions at green NGOs. Other top 10 cities are those with aggressive green business incentives and policies: the San Francisco Bay area, New York, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Portland, Oregon and Burlington, Vermont. The top 20 cities include Houston, Madison, Wisconsin, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego in California, and Philadelphia.

Our conclusion: although there have been fewer green job openings over the past year, there are a wide variety of employment opportunities in many fields and for people of all skill levels. As the economy recovers, we expect a surge in openings in the various renewable energies, as we saw in previous years. Green Dream Jobs will soon launch the Green Jobs Educational Directory to help people locate the hundreds of green job training programs under development across the US.

Top 20 Green Job Titles

Executive Director, Nonprofit
Project Leader/Manager
Sustainability Program Director/Manager
Sales/Business Development Associate or Manager
Marketing Manager/Coordinator
Community Crew Leaders/Supervisors, Conservation Associations
Business/Data Analyst
Research Analyst/Manager
Environmental Educator/Naturalist
Account Executive/Manager, Sales
Professor (various academic fields)
Sustainability Analyst/Consultant
Operations Manager
Wind Energy Engineer
Administrative Assistant
Trainer, Training Specialist or Training Coordinator
Electrical/Design Engineer
Green Architect
Green Building Project Manager
Solar Process Engineer/Process Integration Engineer

About Green Dream Jobs
Green Dream Jobs is the leading green jobs service on the Web, online since 1996. The site hosts green jobs across the spectrum of employers including: multinationals hiring sustainability practitioners, green NGOs, government agencies, renewable energy, green building, green mutual funds, green private equity firms, the organic and recycling industries, etc. Green Dream Jobs is a service of SustainableBusiness.com, the voice of green business on the Web. www.greendreamjobs.com or http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/greendreamjobs.main

About Jim Cassio
Jim Cassio is a career information and workforce development consultant specializing in green workforce issues. He's been commissioned to conduct hundreds of labor market studies and has published numerous occupational resource books, including The Green Careers Resource Guide and the recently released Green Careers: Choosing Work for a Sustainable Future.

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