Top 2010 Green Jobs and Green Career Exploration Resources

For people exploring green job and green career options, here are my Best Green Jobs and Green Career Exploration Internet Resources for 2010:

1. 15 ways to rev up for a job that's good for the environment, fills your wallet, and makes a difference, from the American Solar Energy Society.  This advice is not limited to careers in the solar energy industry.  Honestly, I think this is one of the most helpful green job articles I've seen.
2. Match Your Personality to Green Jobs, at The Career Key website (yes, I'm biased, but you will not find Green Careers accurately organized by Holland personality anywhere else.) 
3. Careers in Wind Energy, an excellent, new article at the USDOL's Occupational Outlook Handbook website. Thanks to federal funding, more articles like this on other green careers are coming. 
4. "Green Economy" section of the O*NET's OnLine resource center.  Link directly by occupation to some of this information from "Match Your Personality to Green Jobs" at the Career Key website.
5. CareerOneStop's Explore Green Careers.  What I like about it is that you can explore careers in 12 green economy sectors, where for each occupation they will show you the level of education required and link you to local college and training programs.
6. Green Careers Resource Guide.  This free PDF eBook by Jim Cassio is a great resource with one exception, the "career assessments" section recommends free resources with an invalid Holland measure*. Otherwise, it's very helpful.
7. Job-Hunt.org's Green Industry Job Search Guide.  This series of articles covers a variety of helpful topics, including some I think are very needed but you don't find much about elsewhere like "Non-Technical Green Careers"and "Any Job can be a Green Job".
8. Khake.com's Environmental Career Guide.  Khake.com is one of my longtime favorite websites with so much great information - this environmental section is no exception.
9. About.com's Job Searching Green Jobs & Careers resources list. The "Job Searching" section of About.com is very comprehensive and helpful if your focus is on finding a green job right now.

*Career assessments on nearly all government websites like the O*NET and CareerOneStop are not scientifically valid (learn more ...), so I recommend taking a valid Holland measure (Career Key offers one, but is not the only one - ask a counselor or career development professional for recommendations), selecting careers and occupations at our website that match your personality, and then visit these other websites for career information.

If you can recommend other online resources that offer high quality green career exploration information (as opposed to job boards (more about job openings than career information), marketing gimmicks, or link farms), please let me know. I'd love to hear about it!

Career Guidance Holiday Gift Idea #2: Scholarship America

Making college degrees accessible to everyone is an important strategy to improve access to high quality career options. So Gift Idea # 2 is Scholarship America, "the largest non-profit, private sector scholarship and educational support organization." Their "Dollars for Scholars" program has over 1,200 chapters run by local volunteers to distribute millions of dollars in scholarships.

Among its special initiatives is the "Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund" to provide education assistance for postsecondary study to financially needy dependents of those killed or permanently disabled as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

And last but not least, Scholarship America has had a 4 star rating from Charity Navigator for 9 consecutive years.

Click the blog label "Holiday Cheer" below to see my other career-focused holiday gift ideas.

I know I personally tend to think more during the holidays about charities related to basic necessities - like food and shelter. But given the current political climate in Washington D.C., I've been trying to buck the trend of thinking short term - and give with an eye to more long-term success.

Speaking of other giving, thanks to Career Key's visitors and customers, we've been able to donate 10% of our sales this year to many charities like:

• UNICEF, 
• Doctors Without Borders, 
• The Nature Conservancy, 
• Charity Navigator, and 
• The Center for Dependable Strengths.

I hope you're having a great holiday season so far. . .

Choosing a College Major Based on Your Personality

                                                          
Deciding on a college major, training program, or career cluster/career pathway? Or know someone who is? Please check out and share with others our new free PDF e-book called "Choosing a College Major Based on Your Personality: what does the research say?" by Career Key author Lawrence K. Jones, Ph.D., NCC.  For more visual overview of the e-book, I just posted the above on YouTube and this slideshow on Slideshare:

Choose a College Major That Fits Your Personality

View more presentations from Juliet Jones, GCDF, J.D..

To read and share the press release that just went out, visit this college majors news from PRWeb.

The e-book briefly explains the research investigating the match between personality and college majors. Then it gives students, parents, and adults changing careers practical advice for taking advantage of the research.

Counselors and educators will also be interested in the research findings - to enhance their programs helping people achieve success in college.

Whew!  This has been a lot of work but worth it . . .  Tell me what you think about this new e-book report - we're looking forward to feedback.