| By :
Roger Brown
Wind Energy Jobs are growing by leaps and bounds. What just a few years ago was a quirky specialty career now is becoming mainstream. The explosive growth of wind energy generation in the United States and other countries is causing a boon in these jobs now that are driving salaries experienced technicians can demand through the roof. With every 10 Megawatts of new generation coming online, one new technician will be needed. In 2011 in the U.S. there is expected to be an additional 12,000 Megawatts of new wind. That means 1,200 new technicians will be needed to service that load! In 2012, there is expected to be another 14,000 Megawatts and the pace is expected to increase unabated as time goes on. As this technology spreads and home wind turbine kits become more popular, there will be a need in communities with a lot of wind power to have local technicians that can repair and do annual service. 1. What exactly are the jobs that are available? The primary openings are in the technical part of the field. Mainly in working on and repairing large wind turbines. 2. How do you get trained to be a wind energy technician? California Wind Tech among other schools teach wind turbine repair. They are available in most states with a lot of wind energy being produced now. 3. How much do they get paid? This is the amazing part. Starting wind techs average $55,000 a year right out of school. As a person gets more experience, their value increases rapidly. A tech with 3 years under his or her belt can make $80,000 per year. Beyond that, this job can pay even more - some make as much as $110,000 per year. Why do wind energy jobs pay so much? Simply put; because they are hazardous and require technical expertise. Many of the assignments will require you to work over 100 feet up on a tower where the wind turbine is mounted. Large wind turbines are complex and many times have gearboxes and power inverting equipment housed at the top of the tower. It is certainly risky work but the pay is outstanding for a job not requiring a college degree. Where can you get trained to do this job? In states where wind and other renewable are a big issue now, like Colorado and California, schools have built curriculums around supplying work forces for wind turbine repair. The courses have been modeled after the American Wind Energy Association standard practices. In conclusion, this is the best time of all to be focusing on getting job in the wind industry. Just as the opportunities in many areas of the economy are flagging, these jobs are abundant and there is no sign of them going away anytime soon.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articleforbacklinks.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
