GREEN CAPITALI$M THAT UNIONS LIKE

 

The Democrats' new climate and tax bill will invest billions in clean energy. Here are 21 high-paying green careers for people who want to save the planet.

There are many occupations out there that help the environment, such as wind turbine service technician.

The Inflation Reduction Act could mean more clean energy jobs created.
Here are the 21 fastest-growing green jobs that also have an annual pay greater than the overall median pay.

Saving the earth and having a lucrative career aren't always mutually exclusive, and the Democrats' big climate and tax bill that just passed could mean even more investment in green jobs.

The Inflation Reduction Act could mean many more workers will be needed to fill various clean energy and other jobs in the coming years. The bill also says it will cut carbon emissions by about 40% by 2030.

"The Inflation Reduction Act builds a new clean energy manufacturing economy by investing in refurbishing old factories; building new factories; requiring high wages; and mandating apprenticeship training for companies using clean energy tax credits," The Center for American Progress wrote in a fact sheet. "The bill will spur domestic production of batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and more, setting the United States up to compete in the global clean energy economy and creating millions of clean energy jobs."

AFL-CIO staff wrote that there will be "an especially big boost to manufacturing." According to Energy Innovation, 1.4 million to 1.5 million jobs in 2030 could be made as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act. According to research from the Political Economy Research Institute, there will be almost 1 million jobs created a year or more than 9 million over the decade as a result. Most of these millions of jobs created would come from grants, loans, and tax credits, according to BlueGreen Alliance who commissioned that analysis.

Per reporting from Axios, Philip Jordan, vice president of BW Research, said equipment installation and construction will see the biggest job gains.

"Green" jobs can lead to lofty incomes. For instance, construction managers typically make $98,890, according to median annual wage data for May 2021.

Additionally, projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show wind turbine service technician is the fastest-growing job in the country after "excluding occupations with above average cyclical recovery," according to projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This occupation is estimated to grow by 68.2% between 2020 and 2030. Solar photovoltaic installers is also the third fastest-growing job — after excluding jobs with "above average cyclical recovery" — with projected employment growth of 52.1% from 2020 to 2030.

Insider looked at different green jobs that are projected to quickly grow and that pay well. To find the 21 fastest-growing green jobs that also pay well, we looked at employment projections from BLS for jobs that are considered green jobs on the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). We only included occupations that had median annual pay above the overall national median of $45,760 as reported by BLS for May 2021.

We also included how much they pay from the BLS' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, along with green economy sectors from online database O*NET.