Linking Military Veterans
with Green Collar Careers
Green Collar Vets believes that meaningful careers include the training and education that keep one at the top of their profession. The GI Bill allows many veterans to take advantage the new technology training necessary in the emerging Green Industries. Some training, such as LEED accreditation study classes and testing for green construction is in the process of being approved for the GI Bill.
We would like your help. If your state offers 'green' education programs in state colleges, please email the information and links for posting on this site to us.
Mesaland Community College - Tucumcari, NM Iowa State University - Ames, Iowas www.ge-at.iastate.edu www.me.engineering.uiowa.edu Lakeshore Technical College - Cleveland, WI www.gotoltc.edu
Texas State Technical College – Sweetwater, Texas (On-line course!)
www.westtexas.tstc.edu/sharedcode/programs/description.cfm?top_id=2&id=7&dept_id=37&short_dept_name=wet
The Wind Energy Technology (WET) Associates Degree Program is designed to provide graduating students with the skills necessary to facilitate an easy transition into many levels of the Wind Energy Industry. Curriculum was developed through the collaborative efforts of subject matter experts from Texas State Technical College West Texas and an advisory board of Wind Energy Managers. Texas
www.mesalands.edu/wind
The North American Wind Research and Training Center provides instruction in wind turbine technology, turbine maintenance, tower safety, and wind economics. Students in these 1-year (basic) and 2-year (advanced) programs will be prepared for rewarding and profitable careers in this industry. There is no state residence requirement for veterans to attend this program. For more information, contact Tracy Roscoe (Navy and Army veteran), director of wind energy training at tracyr@mesalands.edu.
Iowa Lakes Community College - Estherville, Iowa
www.iowalakes.edu/programs_study/industrial/wind_energy_turbine/index.htm
The Wind Energy and Turbine Technology Program is the first in the state of Iowa. Since the number of wind turbines in the state of Iowa is growing quickly, Iowa Lakes Community College is working help meet the growing demand for skilled technicians who can install, maintain, and service modern wind turbines.
BS, MS and PhD degrees are offered in Atmospheric Science and Agricultural Meteorology to meet the weather and climate needs of the wind industry.
University of Iowas's Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering - Iowa City, Iowa
An MS degree program in Wind Power Management and is offered, along with course work in Energy Systems Design. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has chosen the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) to receive its 2008 State Leadership Award. www.me.engineering.uiowa.edu/news/newsDetail.php?newsID=183 Also see http://www.iawind.org
Columbia Gorge Community College - The Dalles, Oregon www.cgcc.cc.or.us/Academics/WindTechnologyPage.cfm
Wind power is a fast-growing industry in our region. Columbia Gorge Community College will be the first community college in the Pacific Northwest to offer training programs for the wind power generation industry. Beginning Fall 2007, Columbia Gorge Community College will offer a 1-year Certificate and a 2-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Degree in Renewable Energy Technology.
Wind Technician Associates Degree. On campus grid tied Vestas wind turbine for student projects and training. Two completed wind farms within 50 miles of campus. Course work in renewable energy and sustainable living, anerobic biogas digesters and photovoltaics.
Green
www.cedarvalleycollege.edu/ProspectiveStudents/ContinuingEducation/EnergyEfficientGreenBuildingInstitute.html
The Energy Efficient Green Building Institute at
Green Building Certification Institute www.gbci.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=19
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) was established as a separately incorporated entity with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council. GBCI administers credentialing programs related to green building practice. These programs support the application of proven strategies for increasing and measuring the performance of buildings and communities as defined by industry systems such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating Systems™.
The Green Advantage www.greenadvantage.org
Green Certification Available for Building-Related Practitioners
Today's environmentally conscious client prefers structures that are: energy and water efficient, durable and disaster resistant, healthier and environmentally friendly. Green Advantage® certifies your knowledge of the latest in "green" building practices, technologies and techniques.
Fuel Cell Technology
Fuel Cell Technology graduates qualify for entry-level positions with companies providing fuel cell and fuel cell systems power for large-scale building complexes (hospitals and nursing homes, hotels, office buildings, schools, utility power plants, airport terminals, etc.); residential and transportation. However, as the demand for fuel cells increases over the next three to five years, graduates will have their choice of career specializations in fields such as miniature fuel cells for laptop, cell phones, digital cameras, power tools, hearing aids, smoke detectors, and building and auto security.
Solar Technology
Austin
The NABCEP Entry Level Certificate is designed for those wanting to enter the solar field. It will be a way for students to show that they have achieved basic knowledge, comprehension and application of key terms and concepts of photovoltaic (solar electric) system operations. The certificate will demonstrate that the student has passed an industry-designed exam based on learning objectives developed by subject matter experts. While the Certificate of Completion by itself will not qualify an individual to install photovoltaic (PV) systems, it does recognize an understanding of the basic terms and operational aspects of a PV system. Students receiving the Entry Level Certificate will then be eligible to enter the workforce to get the required two years of on-the-job training, including installing four PV systems, to eventually be able to sit for the NABCEP certifying exam.
Hudson Valley Community College - Troy, NY www.hvcc.edu/eit/pvc/index.html Wisconsin
The Photovoltaic Installation Certificate program provides the training students need to enter the growing industry of solar panel installation and maintenance. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) worked with Hudson Valley to develop the program as the agency anticipates a high demand for qualified PV installers with hundreds of PV systems expected to be installed in the upcoming years. The 21-credit hour program consists of required and elective courses in the Electrical Construction and Maintenance A.O.S. degree program. These courses include a basic AC/DC electricity course and residential and commercial construction wiring courses which serve as a foundation for two courses in PV theory and practice.
College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point has majors in natural resources management, wildlife, forestry, soils and waste management, water resources management and fisheries, paper science and engineering (and, sustainable technology in the near future) www.uwsp.edu/cnr
Wisconsin Rapids Mid-State Technical College Campus offers programs in Biorefinery Technology; Renewable Electricity Technician and Renewable Thermal Energy Technician. http://www.mstc.edu/wisconsinrapids.htm
(click on "programs by location") www.mstc.edu/renewableelectricitytechnician/
www.mstc.edu/biorefinerytechnology/index.htm www.mstc.edu/renewablethermalenergytech/index.htm
Midwest Renewable Energy Association in Custer, WI offers hands-on training in renewable energy skills. It also hosts the largest Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair in the country the third weekend of June annually. http://www.the-mrea.org/
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Aaron’s Green Collar Vet Story
A veterans's perspective of military transition and getting a degree. It can be tough, but the outcome is worth it.
In 1992 my parents, graduates of the University of California at Berkeley in 1968 (the height of hippie-ness) sat at the dining room table in our upper middle class, Seattle home, signing permission over to the United States government to enlist their 17 year old son in the United States Marine Corps.
At the time I was a strict vegetarian, grunge-band enthusiast, honors student with an "A" average. I even completed several college advanced placement courses. White, upper-middle class vegetarian, sons of ex-hippie parents in Seattle are not supposed to choose the very same organization that another teenager is choosing over serving jail time. Surely I would wash out and then this “silly phase” would be over, with me in my correct place; in an Ivy League classroom.
I didn't wash out. The Marines gave me opportunities that I never dreamed possible. Travel to 15 foreign countries, responsibility, friendships. It prepared me for life and work. I found a wife and a direction. Beyond that I found the respect that I had always wanted. I stood on my own two feet. I was not in the shadow of my parents. The proverbial silver spoon was gone.
Four years later, I found out why so many Marines struggle to return to civilian life. I don't think that my case is unique. We know that today's veterans suffer from higher rates of mental health problems than ever before. We know that too many of these most tragic cases end up homeless. That evening news story usually portrays the story of the amazing success of a single veteran. You know, the vet who was captured, unspeakably tortured, lost limbs, then started a fortune 500 business and won a seat in Congress. This extreme reporting causes us to lose sight of the majority of veterans: those who return without enough mental health damage to warrant substantial treatment. Media sources provide the extreme stories of the tragedy and the triumph of war.
Who are those veterans? What motivates them to push through another day? Are they slipping down into a self destructive pattern because there is little attention paid until it is too late? What benefit do they offer society? I don't really know but I want to. I think that there is a population out there waiting for a call to serve in civilian life. They want a direction. They want someone to inspire them toward more selfless devotion, improving the nation. They want something that they feel is more than a career. I know this because I felt it and it inspired me to do what I do today.
Today, I work as an engineer at a fuel cell company. I work to build products that may reduce or eliminate our dependence on oil, and maybe all fossil fuels. It is a green collar job. When I got out of the Marines, I didn't find this job in the want ads of the local newspaper. There was no television ad offering an online degree or technical training. As I spent several months bobbing up and down on a Navy ship in the Persian Gulf, I planned what I was going to do after my 4 years were up. Slowly I realized that I would never forget the Gulf and the desert sand. I couldn't shake the feeling that one day we might be back again, fighting over this same land (actually what is under the land). I made the decision to transition from soldier to alternative energy engineer and I replaced my desert camouflage collar with a green collar.
The skills and work ethic that I gained in the Marines, along with the passion for alternative energy picked up by experiencing the Persian Gulf first hand, and, later, my engineering degree make me a good candidate for many positions in alternative energy. I think that there are so many great individuals whom I served with that could make the same transition. Shouldn't the market be flooded with potential applicants like me? The GI Bill is one of the best educational deals around; shouldn't every service member be encouraged to pursue a path in math and science? We have most of the skills required: attention to detail, willingness to persevere through difficult and stressful tasks, good sense and judgment, capability to think outside of the box, think on our feet. Why do so few ever even make it to the registration table at the local community college? I think that I can help shed a light on what happens.
Today I have a good, steady job. I have a great family and I am a new father. I finished a master's degree in mechanical engineering a few years ago. Two years ago my wife and I bought our first home. In many respects my life is what I had always hoped it would be. This is the life that I had envisioned living when I left the Marines in 1997, but three years ago we were homeless and out of credit (not just out of money, we were even out of credit). In many ways this financial crisis is very common for graduate students. For most, it is temporary and resolves quickly although it is emotionally draining. For veterans, this situation may be exasperated, as much of the problem is emotional. We grow frustrated or tired; we lose hope. That may seem trivial but if we could just help a few thousand qualified veterans feel more hopeful, we may have a solution to the "brain drain".
Let me walk you through the years between leaving the Marines and my current job. In 1997 my fiancée and I moved from Camp Pendleton to Seattle. We met in California and fell in love just prior to my second overseas deployment. I was motivated to start school. During my time in the Persian Gulf I ordered course catalogs for both the University of Washington and the local community colleges. I diligently planned what courses I would need to complete engineering degrees in chemical and mechanical engineering. I hoped that a combination of these disciplines would provide the experience required to break into the hydrogen fuel cell industry. I quickly realized that Washington State has a direct transfer agreement, whereby completion of a 2 year degree at a community college earned the student automatic admission to the state universities. I further realized that courses at the community college would be half the price with half the class size. Once we completed the transition from California to Washington in May 1997 we landed jobs and an apartment. I enrolled at Shoreline Community College for the fall quarter.
Freshman registration at the community college was the hardest moment of my school life. At that moment I realized the huge chasm that had been created between the 17 year old high school senior and the 21 year old Marine Corps corporal. While in the service, I took classes in math and typing, looked through the college catalogs and plotted the exact path of my courses. But I was not prepared to feel so old, so out of place and out of touch. My heart sank as I realized that I was much more than 4 years behind, I was a lifetime behind. Now, recidivism, institutionalization and military transition difficulties all made sense to me.
I wanted back into the Marines. I wanted to go back to the Gulf where things made sense. How could I plan to spend the next years in this environment? Eventually I found other "older" students and bonded with them. We formed little clicks in our engineering core classes, which helped immensely. I even found a few fellow Marines. One was a Marine sniper who had turned down lucrative assassination contracts and worked part time at a gun range while finishing an English degree.
I finished this phase well, a 3.8 GPA, completion of pre-requisites for both mechanical and chemical engineering and not too much debt. In fact, with my wife (we were married in 1998) and I working, we scraped out a decent life. I was now in for the second biggest shock of my educational career: transition to the 'big' university.
The University of Washington in Seattle is a very large school, with 65,000 staff, undergraduate and graduate students. It is a small city. All "non-traditional" students face extra pressure with work-life balancing acts. Added to this anxiety was a level of complication that often exists for returning veterans: family needs. Eventually we are caught in the grips of work / life balance. Our society is so structured towards the completion of college before the age of 22. It is very difficult for a veteran to return to college without significant financial assistance (like the workplace).
Recall that I mentioned the community college was half price. The GI Bill provides $36,000 for college in return for a $1,200 investment by the individual (that is a substantial return). However $12,000 per year for 4 years is only $1,000 per month. Full-time community college tuition was $1,500 per quarter or $500 per month. I worked part-time, my wife worked full- time and the GI Bill contributed enough that we lived like a normal, young, dual-income, no-kids couple. However 2 1/2 years later, my wife now had Washington state residency and wanted to continue her own education. Add to that my tuition doubling and you get "student loans"…lots of student loans.
This caused us to quickly slip into financial crisis. We had no idea, no plan and no help. Student loans simply pile higher and higher. We used credit cards to pay rent and food, with the hope that eventually a job would solve all the worries. Ignorance of the consequences of these risks was truly blissful.
By 2001 this little plan seemed foolproof. That summer, I interned in Connecticut at International Fuel Cells (now UTC Fuel Cells). While that experience was a story in itself, it was safe to say that I thought I had made it to the promised land by the end of the summer. I was successful in the internship, my wife and I celebrated with a 3-day trip to New York City for Labor Day weekend. Exactly one week later the buildings we took pictures in front of no longer existed. I was in the midst of presenting a summary of my intern work to upper managers (pitching my case for a full-time job starting the following year). Meanwhile the towers were falling in New York. It was devastating. The gulf, the sand, the sun all came back to get me. It was the unannounced sandstorm rising up from the desert to swallow it's prey. One week later I was in Seattle, in debt and out of hope.
Now I faced a dilemma. I left the Marines expecting to work to prevent another war in that region. I dreamed that my contribution to alternative energy would stem the tide and prevent the senseless loss of life. That didn't seem realistic anymore. Should I go back into the Marines as an officer? Lead the troops in battle? It was very tempting because it seemed so much more productive than engineering. With my bills piling up and facing the fallout economy, would there be another option for me? The military was the only thing I felt good at.
I decided to finish out the year in school. I graduated in June 2002. There were no jobs for me. I applied to graduate school and an internship position at Boeing. The job at Boeing was exciting, I put together a design model for a fuel cell powered airplane and a fuel cell system in commercial airline auxiliary power units. I was accepted into graduate school. I felt that I made the right decision to stay out of the Marines, to continue the fight for alternative energy solutions. Then a series of events caused me to doubt that decision. I continue to debate that decision today.
Unfortunately when the jobs dried up, the funding dried up too. I applied to graduate school with the hope of working in one of many fuel cell related projects on campus. This graduate student work would pay tuition and a small stipend. While I would be poor, at least debt wouldn't pile up. Then the funding for these projects started to dry up. The labs cut positions, including mine. So I made what might be the worst financial decision of my life, I decided to pay for graduate school out of pocket. The Boeing job and some side work allowed me to almost break even on debt. So we started at broke and went sharply down from there.
I finished my graduate course work in 3004. Only my thesis lay between me and my degree. That might have been easy except we were out of money and out of credit. Health issues with my wife prevented her from working and we became homeless. We scrounged up some money to move ourselves to California to live with in-laws. That lasted a few months before we moved into a barn in central Washington. By then, I felt pathetic. The culmination of my efforts to find a professional position included 4 years in the marines, 7 years of college, 2 internships with fuel cell companies, $60,000 of combined debt…and yet I was working for a roofing crew, driving the company vehicle since the other members has lost their licenses in DWI sentences. Despite having no rent, no car payments and no kids, I needed a white collar job just to pay the interest on our bills.
Ironically at this time I landed a few interviews. I would occasionally take a day off from roofing, put on my only suit, fly to the East Coast, interview for a position paying 10 times my current salary, fly back and try to squeeze in a half day roofing. It was killing me physically and mentally. I felt guilty for letting my wife and family down, I felt guilty for not being in Iraq or Afghanistan, I felt guilty for not pursuing a more 'normal' engineering career.
I switched from roofing to factory work when winter started. We moved back to Seattle and just gotten into an apartment. Then I was invited to interview with Nuvera (where I currently work). I flew out to Boston and back to Seattle on a Thursday. The next day I got the job offer. Saturday we held a garage sale. Tuesday night we loaded a mini-van with all our worldly possessions and drove 3,000 miles to a new life. While that trip is also a story in itself, we landed safely (by good luck, the grace of God and the skin of our teeth). I started at Nuvera the following Monday in mid-January 2005.
Now we own a home purchased on a VA Home Loan, my education, military training and military background are all assets to my company. I feel confident that without all of those factors, I could not have achieved the position I hold today. It took a lot of school and has been a very rough ride. I made a lot of wrong turns, wasted too much money and wasn't able to present all of the skills that I had when I was ready to interview. But here I am now, ready to serve my country again, in a new way, a green collar way.
Contact Aaron Harris is you would like first-hand information about a career in the fuel cell industry. aph603@gmail.com
