Hazel Said:

I want to change careers from IT to something else?

We Answered:

Try reading "What Color Is Your Parachute," available at almost any book store or library. It's all about aligning your skills and interests with the career that best suits you. The fact that computer skills are an advantage in most other fields these days should help you transition to something else easily. Good luck!

Kathy Said:

I am 42 and want to change careers to a green energy job such as a consultant, does any one have ideas?

We Answered:

I would suggest the following:

Look into LEED (USGBC) and Green Globes. These are building assessment programs and are becoming mandatory for many new government buildings.

Go do Dice and other job boards and set up daily alerts for keywords like LEED and others that you come across. After a year of this you will be well aware of the trends and what companies are looking for.

Make sure you understand thermal auditing, large and small wind power generation and residential photovoltaic.

Look at getting certified in areas that interest you. Look at your state's web site and see what the requirements are for being able to perform energy audits. If they recommend a particular certification, go get it.

An engineering degree is not going to help you much other than as a credential. The stuff you learn in any undergrad degree is quite trivial, and as time goes on (people in your age bracket are talking about courses taken 25 years ago) it is the job experience that counts. This is a truly enormous area, crosses multiple scientific disciplines and to do it justice, you will probably need several years. I think the goal of taking a year to network, study, read books and prepare for certifications is a good way to land an entry level job. From there you can advance rapidly.

There are lots of good industry groups out there like ASHRAE and ASTM that you can join and get a discount on their publications. Amazon is a great place to find good books -- there is a lot of garbage out there so the Amazon reviews are important. Many are available used, so you can build up an inexpensive reference library.

Organizations like the USGBC have groups that support them. You may be able to participate in their WebEx presentations and do volunteer work. You will learn a great deal about the politics that are driving this industry and adjust your direction accordingly.

Have a look at these links: http://nlcpr.com/Links1.php

Good luck.