Job Opportunities in Energy: Low-Energy, Low-Impact Buildings

By Sammie Trvalik, Earth Forward Group

Published October 26, 2022. Updated May 2, 2024.

October is Energy Awareness Month, promoting building optimization and management, energy resilience, and the use of advanced energy technologies to build a more sustainable future. This month, Earth Forward Group celebrates the rapidly accelerating growth of green energy jobs. Each week, we will be highlighting career opportunities in the energy sector for entry-level professionals, seasoned workers, and career-changers. Green job skills are in high demand. We will cover which valuable skills and certifications will help you land the job for each position.

Our built environment is a massive contributor to the climate crisis through its impacts on the atmosphere and broader ecosystems. In terms of energy, buildings consume about 40% of all electricity. This week, we are focusing on low-energy, low-impact building professionals. As climate change advances, buildings must withstand harsher weather conditions, and consumers will be further motivated to invest in energy use reduction strategies as the cost of energy increases. This field requires the coordinated effort of professionals from a number of disciplines, from electrical to HVAC, plumbing, carpentry, engineering, and more. This blog relates most closely to the architectural career path.

The following information for an Architect was collected from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2024. Since it is such an emerging field, there is no information currently available specifically for green-building architects.

  • Median Pay (2023): $93,310/yr ($44.86/hr)

  • Entry-level Education: Bachelor’s Degree

  • Number of Jobs (2022): 123,700

  • Job outlook (over the next 10 years): 5% (Faster than average)

A diagram of a net-zero residential building (Image Source)

There are a number of construction design methods that reduce the energy and impact of a home. Including, but not limited to:

  • Net-zero buildings. Net-zero buildings are designed to negate the amount of greenhouse gasses produced through the implementation of renewable energy sources, carbon capture and offset systems, and structural design choices.

  • Passive-house design. The first passive-house was built in Darmstadt, Germany, and lays the foundation for passive-house construction worldwide. Undecided with Matt Farrell outlines the field’s principles in this YouTube Video, covering continuous insulation, thermal-bridge reduction, optimized orientation, high-efficiency windows, airtightness and ventilation.

  • Natural building. Natural building is a method of construction that utilizes recycled or salvaged materials. Resources like clay or sand are sourced directly from local land, and construction is dependent mostly on human labor. Earthships are a method of natural building popularized in the late 20th and early 21st century by architect Michael Reynolds and have quickly gained popularity.

An earthship, made from recycled and salvaged materials such as glass bottles

Training programs:

View USGBC’s online courses in green building and sustainable design, and Green Building Careers page.

Browse these sites to find green jobs and other impactful careers:

Green Jobs Board

80,000 Hours

GreenBiz Jobs Alert

Green Jobs Network and Job Board

EERE’s Clean Energy Jobs listings

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Green Careers

If you are interested in learning more about EFG’s own workforce development program design offerings, please contact us at info@earthforwardgroup.com

Career Exploration, Energy EfficiencyEFGSustainable Development, Sustainability, Jobs, Net Zero, Climate Change