For a moment let us cut through the eco-hype. Vinova renewable energy careers are for ordinary people who enjoy seeing real zeros in their bank accounts, not only for campaigners hugging trees now. Six-figure pay for positions devoid of selling your soul or donning a tie are what we are discussing.

Unassuming heroes of this revolution are wind turbine technicians. These people essentially rock climb for a living making 70,000 − 100,000 year. Indeed, you will hang from heights that would cause your mother to pass out, but the health insurance is really fantastic (pun intended). One tech informed me, “I used to break my back in construction for half this pay.” I am compensated now to view sunrises from three hundred feet above.

Solar installers are both practically and physically cleaning up too. The instruction lasts roughly the same length as learning to drive a stick shift; suddenly you are turning roofs into money printers 25 − 45 an hour. “Best career move I ever made,” claimed a former bartender currently making $85,000. Turns out, solar panels rank higher than drunken visitors.

But the dirty little secret they keep from you at career fairs is:

Salespeople receive commissions that would make your car salesman cousin envious; electricians are making bank rebuilding the grid; project managers who can really execute projects on schedule are treated like tiny gods. Even the warehouse workers are timing $60,000 with overtime.

Entry’s obstacle? about in line with a speed bump. Most businesses would prefer to employ a meth addict who shows up on time over a Harvard graduate with poor attendance record. Local trade programs certify you more quickly than you could even pronounce “student debt forgiveness.”

Pay starts at “finally moving out of Mom’s basement” money and climbs up to “accidentally buying a boat”. The hustlers who launch their own teams—we’re talking about $200,000+ for those who can calculate and avoid offending consumers—are the true winners.

There are clearly negatives as well. In winter you will freeze your ass off and bake in summer. Reading building rules will cause a permanent squint. Indeed, you will have to gently explain to your uncle that no, wind turbines do not really induce cancer.

But when your direct deposit shows every Friday exactly like clockwork? When you can really name something and say, “I built that”? Daily from residential roofs to mountain ridges, your office view varies. That is the kind of stuff job aspirations consist of.

For some who felt they missed their chance, this is a backdoor into the middle class, not just another job. The sector is so in need of employees that it is hiring ex-cons, college dropouts, even one cousin “just needs a chance.”

One solar foreman said, “We’re not saving the planet—we’re just getting paid like we are.” That is what I define as clean energy now.