A recent Department of Energy report shows that clean energy jobs grew at more than double the rate of overall employment in the U.S. growing  by 4.2% and signaling that green jobs aren’t just expanding—they’re outpacing almost every other field.

While some people may seem skeptical about the explosion in so-called ‘green’ jobs, numbers don’t lie. Data from LinkedIn’s 2024 Global Green Jobs Report reveals that Americans with sustainability-related skills enjoyed a hiring rate more than 80% higher than those of the average worker, hiring in solar energy is almost twice as much as fossil fuels, and hiring in wind energy is 42% higher.

Considering the growth of green jobs, are we not embracing the clean energy economy?

None of this should be a surprise — as our climate changes, the global economy is changing with it.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) counted a record 16.2 million green jobs in 2023, up from 13.7 million the previous year, reflecting an unprecedented 18% annual rise. China dominates the global landscape, responsible for nearly 7.4 million green jobs — 46% of the world’s total — while nations like the European Union, Brazil, and India are also seeing surges, specifically in solar, wind, and hydropower employment. These figures underscore the scale and speed of the green transition reshaping workforces across the world. 

Here are just 6 of the many new green jobs being created. 

1. Teachers 

Solving the climate crisis will require a long-term commitment. Future generations must understand what’s at stake: the basic science, the policy options, and the consequences. Toward that end, I strongly support including climate education in the educational curricula of all nations.

Brad Smith, President of Microsoft

Teachers are one of the most important professions in society. Everyone is familiar with what they do, but you might be surprised to learn that even teaching is a green job. Green jobs need students and graduates who have undergone climate education, and teachers are the ones who provide that education.

Teachers can also help build green muscle memory in their students. That means helping their students to learn about the environment so that caring for it becomes second nature to them. So that they make green decisions, whether buying sustainable clothing brands, driving EV’s or saying “no” to plastics. 

For teachers who are interested in teaching their students about the importance of our climate, EARTHDAY.ORG has tons of free educational resources, written and designed by former educators. Our own report Climate-Education-vs-The-Climate-Crisis is a great way to find out why classrooms are so critical in creating a new skilled climate savvy workforce. 

2. Meteorologist

When someone says the word “meteorologist,” you might immediately picture a television  weather forecaster, but most meteorologists work less visibly. Whether in science, research, data collection or something else, there are many career paths for meteorologists. 

Meteorologists are among the most trusted authorities on climate change. As climate-fueled weather disasters get worse, we need meteorologists to tell us when danger is coming. To know what to do when disaster hits, though, we need another group of people: emergency managers.

You will need a Bachelor’s degree in a related field but the effort will pay off as these jobs earn around $80,000 per year on average.

3. Nursing

Nurses are moving to the forefront of the green workforce as climate change accelerates health emergencies worldwide. 

Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is projected to cause an additional 250,000 deaths each year globally from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress, challenges that nurses will increasingly address through direct care, prevention, and public health education. 

That’s not all. Nurses must also confront climate-enhanced illnesses like dengue and malaria that are spreading into new regions as higher temperatures expand the range of disease-carrying mosquitoes. This could expose an extra 500 million people worldwide to these threats by 2050. Plus floods, wildfires, and hurricanes — all of which are becoming more frequent and severe — means our health care workers are facing new challenges. 

Nurses are in big demand. The US alone has a shortfall of around  78,610 full-time equivalent (FTE) registered nurses (RNs). The cumulative deficit could exceed 500,000 nurses by 2030, supported by official data primarily from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

4. Solar Panel Installer

Fossil fuels like oil and gas emit about 37.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, harming the planet and human health as a result. Solar energy is a viable and practical alternative to planet destroying carbon based energy. 

Solar energy emits only 5-10% as much carbon dioxide as fossil fuels, making it much better for the environment. For clarity solar panels themselves do not emit carbon dioxide but emissions occur during the entire lifecycle of a solar panel, primarily in the manufacturing process. This includes raw material extraction, refining of silicon (which requires high heat and energy), manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal or recycling. 

Solar energy has rapidly evolved into one of the most cost-effective clean energy sources available today. Advances in photovoltaic technology, such as multijunction solar cells, have the potential to boost solar panel efficiency by up to 70% compared to traditional panels, significantly increasing energy output. At the same time solar system prices have fallen by about 70% over the past decade alone, with further reductions of up to 60% expected as adoption grows and manufacturing scales up. Residential solar panels pay for themselves in 7 to 10 years through energy bill savings.  

Solar panel installers — or, if you want to get technical, solar photovoltaic (PV) installers — do just what you’d expect. They install solar panels on buildings and land. This is much more complicated than it might sound: they have to take precise measurements, ensure that solar panels will work in that location, and work with complex wiring and electrical systems. Most of their work is done outdoors.

Still, despite their multifaceted work, there are many ways to become certified as a solar installer. You could become qualified through an online course or through on-the-job training like an apprenticeship or internship. And with a median hourly wage of just under $25, middle-earning PV installers make $51,860 per year.

5. Renewable Energy Technician

Just as solar energy is an increasingly viable source of energy, so are many other kinds of renewable energy, including wind and geothermal. In fact, renewable energy catalyzes job growth: it could create 14 million global jobs by 2030.

PV installers are just a part of the larger category of renewable energy technician. Like PV installers, these positions often involve assessment, installation, and maintenance of renewable energy systems, but they can involve any kind of renewable energy, from wind to hydroelectric to geothermal. Because of the many different kinds of renewable energy, this job type can have various responsibilities based on the specialization. Wind turbine technicians, for example, must often work at heights to access critical components of the turbines.

Work experience is often prioritized, meaning that a high school diploma is often sufficient for one of these jobs. Still, a 2 year degree or certificate in a field related to renewables can make you a much more attractive candidate. Pay will vary depending on one’s specialty. Median wind turbine technicians, for example, earn about $30 per hour, or $62,580 annually.

6. Emergency Manager

With recent tragedies like the flood in Texas, many are realizing the importance of having systems in place to mitigate harm when extreme weather events happens. Emergency managers, disaster relief coordinators, and emergency preparedness coordinators all work to save people and reduce damage.

Emergency managers usually work for the local, state, or federal government. People in these positions create plans, assess readiness, and coordinate resources for when disaster strikes. This job also usually involves applying for financial and technical resources from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, although new restrictions are hampering FEMA’s ability to help.

These jobs generally require bachelor’s degrees. Pay can range widely depending on location and position, but it follows a similar range to meteorology: from $30,000 to $110,000.

Join the Green Reality

These are just a handful of the green jobs which will continue to increase in prevalence as the climate and our economy changes. All of them are vital. 

But how can we, as individuals, help to ensure that everyone is ready for these changes? For one thing, we can make sure that we are all informed about what climate education entails. More actively, everyone can sign EARTHDAY.ORG’s petition for all countries to commit to climate education.