June 2, 2023
To Curb Climate Change, Young People Are Growing the Green Jobs Market
By Eleanor Buchanan
As environmental concern extends beyonds traditional conservation work, recent graduates are seeking sustainable careers—with more options than ever before.
When Kristy Drutman graduated from the University of California–Berkeley in 2017, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in environmental communications, but she didn’t know where to start. Years later, after an initial struggle to identify all the options available to her, Drutman became a climate influencer, using her platform as “Brown Girl Green” to share information about green job opportunities with young people finding themselves in a similar position. Now, she runs an entire Green Jobs Board dedicated to this mission.
Pursuing a green career can take many paths—particularly compared to past decades. As concern around climate change increases, the green jobs market now ranges from environmental communications to innovating climate tech and grassroots campaigning.
Around the country, young people are taking advantage of new resources and opportunities to pursue careers that align with our commitment to accelerating a just renewable energy transition. According to Climate Power, between August 2022, when President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, and January 2023, clean energy companies created more than 100,000 new jobs. Polls find that the majority of young people want to have environmentally sustainable careers.
