Climate Change Provides Job Security

(MoneyWatch)  In the midst of a sagging economy crippled by layoffs and a global credit crunch, there is a bright spot among the new green economy. People working in the climate change industry feel safe in their jobs. [Pause for ironic contemplation].

The first-ever Carbon Salary Survey, conducted by Reuters, found 68 percent of green workers polled have an increased sense of job security as governments and businesses react to the threat of climate change. In short, they expect climate change to be a problem and a priority for awhile.

Of the 1,200 people polled, the survey found the average green collar worker makes $76,000 per year, with half receiving bonuses. U.S.-based workers had the highest average pay at $100,000. Salaries in the financial and legal sectors of the climate change industry were the highest at $116,000 and folks working in marketing, public relations or media had the lowest average salaries at $58,000.

All-in-all it sounds pretty good. The picture isn't quite as positive or clear for folks looking for green manufacturing jobs. The University of California Berkeley has estimated renewable energy could create as many as 4 million new jobs.

The problem? Many of these entry-level jobs pay $12 an hour, less than all of those endangered auto manufacturing jobs. The $12-an-hour figure doesn't provide an accurate picture because the industry contains a variety of jobs and as a result a wide range of wages.

And that's the problem with trying to put a predictive finger on the industry. It's too new, vast and ever-changing to determine exactly what it will mean for people looking for green work and the businesses who are creating those jobs in the first place.

Lower wages for entry-level workers may actually be a good thing -- at first. People who don't have the necessary skills will not be automatically shut out of the hiring process, providing an opportunity for people to transition from one industry to another and to grow the number of skilled workers in the U.S.. It also gives companies with emerging green products a chance to keep their costs low and hopefully remain competitive enough to not only stay in business, but grow it.

Before I get a hundred comments blasting me, I'm not arguing for low-paying jobs.

I expect as the industry matures and entry-level workers receive the necessary skills, wages will rise. And as more people enter into the green economy and gain some new expertise, the hiring bar will be set higher as well.