Career Center News Meltdown 101: Where are the renewable energy jobs? Careers: Is nursing a career cure? Ore. grads must get creative in dismal job market KY camp urges minority students to pursue science careers Specials Graduate / Professional School Channel

Career Center News

By The Associated Press

Meltdown 101: Where are the renewable energy jobs?

By SANDY SHORE

AP Energy Writer

Everywhere you turn there is talk of a shift to renewable energy, of building wind farms and solar plants, of making buildings more efficient, of developing biofuels. And of billions in federal funding to help make it all happen.

This should mean a whole lot of new energy jobs. So where are they -- and how do I get one?

The clean energy sector has certainly been on a tear in recent years, and there will be a lot more money flowing in to meet government-backed demand.

Here's the "but":

The recession has walloped the clean energy sector like every other, and no one is going on a hiring spree right now. Companies have shelved plans for wind farms, solar parks and biofuels plants. Some have laid off workers. Others have been forced to seek bankruptcy protection.

Still, this is a growth field, and most agree business will pick up later this year or in 2010.

Renewable energy provides a small fraction of electricity used today but the wind and solar sectors are among the fastest growing in the United States.

Between 1998 and 2007, renewable energy employment grew by about 9.1 percent, according to a recent study by The Pew Charitable Trusts that was based on an extensive jobs database. That still totals only about 770,000 jobs, or about one half of 1 percent of all jobs in the United States, according to the study. And the period under study ended before the recession struck, so it remains unclear how well the new energy sector has fared since then.

Yet there are early signs that, in addition to government funding, venture capital continues to poor into renewable energy.

Here are some questions and answers about the industry, including what kind of jobs are available.

Q: What kinds of renewable energy jobs are there?

A: Just about any job found in a traditional industry can apply to renewables. But a few fields stand out.

Solar and wind turbine manufacturing plants will need assembly line workers. Mechanics, electricians and maintenance workers will be needed for wind farms, solar parks and biofuels plants. And many types of science and engineering positions will be central to the growth of the industry.

Q: How is the federal money being allocated?

The package includes about $21 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy manufacturers, which has been a key source of funding to help them lure additional investments.

About $11 billion is being earmarked for improving the nation's overcrowded, aging electricity system.

Other allocations include: $6 billion, energy efficiency projects; $5 billion, weatherization program for low-income housing; $2 billion, advanced battery technology; $500 million, job training; $300 million, fuel-efficient vehicles for federal government use.

Q: What particular parts of the renewable energy sector are hiring?

A: About 65 percent of the jobs today are with companies that recycle waste, cut greenhouse gas pollution and handle water conservation, according to the Pew study released this month.

There also has been job growth this year at major utilities that are quickly adding a big solar component to the business, said Neal Lurie of the American Solar Energy Society.

Q: What kind of experience is needed?

A: Many types of jobs require little or no additional training and transition smoothly to the green industry -- accountants, stock clerks, security guards or electricians are all represented in the field.

Community colleges are offering training classes for more specialized jobs, such as solar panel installation, wind turbine repair and biofuels processing.

An electrician, for example, can spend a couple of weeks in training and then begin installing solar panels. A plumber can be trained in a few weeks to install solar thermal water heaters, said Roger Bezdek, president of consultancy Management Information Services Inc.

Q: What is the salary range?

A: A study released this year by Management Information Services and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics detailed some median annual salaries:

Insulation worker, $30,800; recycling worker, $26,400; energy audit specialist, $40,300; environmental engineer, $76,000; environmental engineer technician, $42,800; microbiologist, $64,600; physicist, $93,300.

Q: What's the best way to break into the field?

A: Do a little research to figure out where your interests lie, think about your work experience, and consider what sector is growing in your region, or in a place where you'd be willing to relocate. Volunteer at nonprofit organizations or tour businesses to see the technology and how it works.

There are a number of Web sites that list renewable energy jobs and job hunting tips, such as the American Solar Energy Society, Renewable Energy World and Sustainable Business.

Q: Do I have to move to find a green job?

A: Maybe. There are states with a stronger green energy base and, historically, more green jobs per capita.

Oregon is tops for green, with more than 1 percent of the state's total job base in the clean energy sector, according to Pew researchers. Once again, though, the recession complicates matters: In Oregon, 33 of the state's 36 counties had unemployment rates of at least 10 percent last month, the state reported Monday.

There are, however, some states to keep an eye on when the economy does rebound.

Maine is a close runner-up to Oregon for green jobs per capita; Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho and California also have a higher-than-average number of jobs in the field. Colorado is big on wind, and Arizona, not surprisingly, attracts solar types. But so does New Jersey -- that state is pursuing solar energy aggressively, and utilities there are plowing millions into new sun-powered projects.

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On the Net:

American Solar Energy Society: http://www.ases.org/

Renewable Energy World: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/home

Sustainable Business: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com

Management Information Services Inc.: http://www.misi-net.com/

The Pew Charitable Trusts: http://www.pewtrusts.org/

Careers: Is nursing a career cure?

By DAN SEWELL

Associated Press Writer

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Their fellow students call them "Mom and Pop."

Both 40 years old, Lena Gambill and Bob Mitchell are among the first-year nursing students at Shawnee State University, in the Ohio river city of Portsmouth nearly 100 miles southeast of here. In an Appalachian region that was already struggling with double-digit unemployment before the national recession hit, they both considered a nursing career their best bet for a secure future.

"The reason I decided to do it is no matter where we go, no matter what happens economy-wise, this is an occupation I can count on and I can take with me," said Gambill, a mother of three who had been a full-time teacher's aide.

"There is always something you can do with nursing," agreed Mitchell, a former state prison guard.

A field that has long seen staff shortages is getting another look from people who are out of work, fear they soon could be or need to replace a laid-off spouse's income.

But there are barriers to overcome, from getting the needed education to meeting the profession's sometimes exhausting demands.

"The most difficult thing has been budgeting between my family and schooling to get to my goal," said Gambill, estimating she spends 40 hours a week studying and doing clinical work in a two-year program to become a registered nurse.

Industry experts say the recession is reducing nursing vacancy rates because more nurses are delaying retirement, moving from part-time to full-time status for the extra income, or coming back from retirement.

But plenty of need remains, especially as the Baby Boom generation ages and requires more health care. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected more than 1 million nursing openings over the 10-year period ending in 2016.

Among the benefits of becoming a nurse, besides employment security, is yearly pay that usually ranges in hospitals from around $50,000 into six figures, depending on experience and skills. Nursing offers flexible scheduling that can include three-day weeks (12-hour shifts) and weekends-only positions. And workplaces are as varied as physicians' offices, nursing homes and health-related corporate jobs.

The bureau also projects strong job growth for some faster routes into health care. They include licensed practical nursing; the degree takes about a year to earn, and jobs usually pay about two-thirds what registered nurses earn. Growth also is projected for lower-paying jobs such as home care aides, which do not require college study.

Universities and nursing schools have been scrambling to keep up with growing interest, but they face a shortage of qualified instructors -- in most cases, nurses can earn much more working in a hospital than teaching.

At Shawnee State, with about 200 nursing students, twice that number of qualified applicants get turned away each year, said Mattie Burton, who heads the nursing program. Of the first-year students, about 15 percent each year don't make it through a demanding combination of classes, clinical studies and work.

"We have people who made straight A's coming out of high school who find it's too difficult," Burton said. She said nurses need good a background in sciences such as biology and chemistry and in mathematics.

Some students are unprepared to see illness and pain up close on a regular basis.

"They haven't had experience with sick people like that before and decide that's not what they want to do," Burton said.

Debbe Endres, who heads human resources for the Cincinnati-based Health Alliance's five hospitals, said nurses must work well in teams, be respectful, and set high standards for themselves and for care. The job can be physically and emotionally demanding, and doesn't lend itself to a 9-to-5 mentality.

"It's 24-7," she said.

"For anyone considering nursing, my best recommendation is to sit down and talk with a nurse, find out what are the positive aspects, and what are the challenging aspects," said Endres, adding that some places offer job shadowing for those thinking about the field.

As for advancement, some employers will underwrite additional training and education for nurses who commit to stay.

Gambill will pay for her two years of school with some $15,000 in education loans. Her husband's income as an ironworker disqualifies her from grants, she said.

And unlike many young students, she and her husband are busy raising children -- ages 11, 14 and 15. Her mother-in-law has pitched in on housework and helped teach the kids how to handle more of their own daily needs.

"Without a good support system, this wouldn't work," Gambill said.

Mitchell's wife is also in health care, working full time as a phlebotomist. They have two children, ages 9 and 12.

"There's lots of times I have to go to the library and study to get quiet, a lot of times I don't see my family," Mitchell said, saying his wife has accepted the extra burden while he earns his degree.

Mitchell, who had first aid training and experience as a prison guard, said he thinks that having had children who get sick or injured is a plus in nursing studies.

"My life experiences help out," he said.

Mitchell stands out on campus. A 6-foot-3-inch, 250-pound bald man who likes interacting with people, he also sees a lot to like in nursing.

"The variety -- it challenges your mind. You have to be observant," he said. "You have to earn your pay, but it is fulfilling. It makes you feel good to help somebody else."

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On the Net:

American Nurses Association http://www.nursingworld.org/

American Association of Colleges of Nursing: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/

Bureau of Labor Statistics/Career Guide to Health Care: http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs035.htm

Ore. grads must get creative in dismal job market

By SUZANNE PARDINGTON

The Oregonian

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Graduation day is not desperation day.

This year's college graduates are entering the toughest job market in a quarter-century. Oregon's unemployment rate is 12.4 percent. Campus recruitment is down. And many doors to traditional career paths are closed for now.

That doesn't mean all graduates have to give up all hope of putting their new degrees to work. But career counselors say it might take more time, creativity and persistence to get hired.

More new graduates are turning to other ways to gain work experience and, if all goes well, make a living. They are taking internships, joining service organizations and even starting their own businesses.

"A college-educated person is still a lot better off in the work place than a lot of people who are struggling with employment and have lost their jobs," said Deb Chereck, director of the University of Oregon's career center. "What I'm worried about are those who are putting their heads in the sand and giving up."

Ngan Nguyen, a recent Oregon State University graduate, sees the recession as an opportunity.

The biochemistry, biophysics and bioengineering major is collaborating with friends on two startup companies: a biodiesel manufacturer and eco-friendly, all-natural cosmetics lines. She turned down a job offer in San Diego and a chance to go to graduate school at MIT.

"It's an ideal time to be an entrepreneur because the big companies are getting hit harder by the economy," Nguyen, 22, said. "It's a good chance because people are open to new opportunities."

Nguyen emigrated from Vietnam with her family at age 7, dropped out of high school at 16, got a night-school diploma at 17 and went to Linn-Benton Community College before transferring to Oregon State.

She thought she was really bad at science and math until she took them in college and excelled. She had grants and a lab job lined up at MIT but decided to stay in Corvallis instead.

"I'm really eager to really apply the knowledge I learned in school," she said. "I don't want to go to school for five more years before I try."

She's not typical. Nationally, about 20 percent of this year's college graduates who applied for jobs got one, according to a spring survey of seniors by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That's down from 51 percent in 2007 and 26 percent last year.

The survey also showed more graduating seniors this year put off their job searches than in the past two years.

Accounting, computer science and economics majors are the most likely to have job offers by graduation, although the numbers in those fields are down this year, according to the survey.

"A lot of people are hiring, but they are hiring less," University of Oregon's Chereck said.

Dee Thompson, director of Portland State University's career center, said she urges students who are anxious about the job market to look at alternatives, such as internships, that improve their chances of permanent employment when the economy improves.

"Maybe their first job out of college isn't the exact job they wanted, but how can they get the skills to enhance that goal?" Thompson said.

And students seem to be doing just that.

Justin Tandingan, a 22-year-old graduate from the University of Oregon, is one of 4,100 new teachers chosen from a record 35,000 applications for Teach for America.

He will teach at a charter elementary school in San Jose, Calif., with the goal of helping low-income students. He hopes teaching will be "a good break from school that will still be productive."

A lot of his friends also are doing volunteer, nonprofit or activist work instead of finding a traditional job or going straight to graduate school.

Minda Heyman, director of Lewis & Clark College's Center for Career and Community Engagement, said the challenge for new graduates is to focus on a particular area and make connections with alumni and others in the field.

Lewis & Clark graduates "tend to take some time to figure out where they are going and what they are doing." A lot of them want to stay in Portland but that might not be realistic in this job market, Heyman said.

"We try to be very honest with them," Heyman said.

Euphrates Dahout, a dance and theater major who graduated from Reed College in May, will start a one-year internship at Berkeley Repertory Theater in July that pays $400 a month, plus free housing and classes and opportunities to understudy.

Dahout, 22, said she wants to learn the administrative side of running a theater in hopes of directing her own company someday. She will get the added perspective of how to survive a recession.

"For artists, it's always been hard," she said. "It just changes how hard."

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On the Net:

National Association of Colleges and Employers: http://www.naceweb.org/

Teach For America: http://www.teachforamerica.org/

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Other Recent Readings of Interest

• Ore. jobless rate hits record 12.4 percent

KY camp urges minority students to pursue science careers

By LORI HARRISON

The Messenger

MADISONVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Endia Shepherd carefully used a pencil to push the Christmas light base into place.

The plastic pieces kept wires from moving as the 13-year-old and other members of her group at the Governor's Minority Student College Preparation Program built a traffic light at the Brown Badgett Sr. Energy and Advanced Technology Center. They used red, green and yellow Christmas lights and other materials.

Putting together the electrical components was easy "after (the instructor) showed us," said 11-year-old William Rorer.

The students first built a control logic board for the traffic light, said instructor Joey Jones, coordinator of Madisonville Community College's advanced industrial integrated technology program.

"The car pulls up, the green light comes on, then sequences through," Jones said.

The camp, which is in about its 10th year here, has 21 participants. They are enrolled in middle school or fifth grade.

At the start of the two-week camp, 10 local participants spent two days at Murray State University with children from other locations. The camp then spent three days focused on crime scene investigation, before switching to building a traffic light.

"Of course, its focus is on STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math," said MCC Director of Cultural Diversity James Bowles said. "We're trying to prepare them for possible careers in those areas. ... We do not have enough people focusing on those kinds of careers."

For the crime scene investigation, students were given a list of six missing persons. They then used the length of a humerus bone -- the upper arm -- to identify whose bone had been found in the MCC woods.

"They had to collect the evidence," Bowles said. "You do scientific observation. You have to write things down.

"They really got into it. They were really excited."

The project is a collaboration among the Council on Postsecondary Education, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, and the James Larmouth and Jesse Stuart Family Resource Youth Service Centers in the Hopkins County Schools.

"We're just trying to keep them on the college preparation track," Bowles said. "We're trying to get them interested in college at an early age."

Rorer is already convinced.

"I'm hoping to be a doctor," he said.

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Information from: The Messenger, http://www.the-messenger.com

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