"In order to succeed in the 21st century, we are working to improve education, expand health care, fix the infrastructure, overhaul our manufacturing industries, adopt green technologies, and continue our leadership in high-tech innovation," says Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., one of the nation's leading occupational experts and author of the recently released book "200 Best Jobs for Renewing America."
In his book, Shatkin discusses the six industries at the center of America's shift toward a forward-looking economy: education, infrastructure, health care, information and telecommunication technologies, green technologies and advanced manufacturing.
Of these industries, green technologies, in particular, has gained a great deal of interest among individuals hoping to secure a solid job as the economy continues to reinvent itself and become more competitive in the upcoming decades.
According to Shatkin's research, the following list outlines the best jobs overall in green technologies.
1. Construction managers
Annual Earnings: $76,230
Percent Growth: 15.7 percent
2. Industrial engineers
Annual Earnings: $71,430
Percent Growth: 20.3 percent
3. First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers
Annual Earnings: $55,950
Percent Growth: 9.1 percent
4. Environmental scientists and specialists
Annual Earnings: $58,380
Percent Growth: 25.1 percent
5. Construction and building inspectors
Annual Earnings: $48,330
Percent Growth: 18.2 percent
6. Environmental engineers
Annual Earnings: $72,350
Percent Growth: 25.4 percent
7. Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters
Annual Earnings: $44,090
Percent Growth: 10.6 percent
8.Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
Annual Earnings: $75,800
Percent Growth: 21.9 percent
9. Carpenters
Annual Earnings: $37,660
Percent Growth: 10.3 percent
10. Electricians
Annual Earnings: $44,780
Percent Growth: 7.4 percent
*Percent growth between 2006 and 2016.
Selena Dehne is a career writer for JIST Publishing who shares the latest occupational, career and job search information available with job seekers and career changers. She is also the author of JIST's Job Search and Career Blog (http://jistjobsearchandcareer.blogspot.com/).