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Hi, I am new to this forum and looking for advice on getting started in solar. I have been researching for years on solar panels, and mostly doing diy stuff but lately would really like to get involved in a career , maybe installing or building solar panels? I have no degree and really have no interest in going to college for some long term expensive degree so I recently started looking into online courses with Solar Energy International. Would anyone know if these courses or certificates are the right direction to go? I am hoping to reach out to employers at solar companies to see if tattoos would be something that would keep me from getting employed before getting my hopes up and getting certified. Any information would be greatly appreciated. And if there is a better place on this forum to post this I haven't found it yet, so I am sorry if this the wrong place to post.
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Then you are going no where in solar or really anywhere else other than a Grunt working for minimum wage for a roofer contractor. Besides Solar is a good business to be getting out of right now, not getting into. Most of the good Solar Techs have two year degrees and hold electrical license and solar is just a part time adventure added onto electrical work.I have no degree and really have no interest in going to college for some long term expensive degreeMSEE, PE -
The majority of solar careers I have seen posted are off shore in the UK and Europe. Not much going on in the US sad to say.Comment
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Your location says you will move to Columbus, OH. Horrible solar market partly due to them having good electric prices there but bad cloudy conditions and limited state funds to supplement installations like PA does now (the PA Sunshine program).
You could always move to NJ or CA for a while and work for Solar City doing quick installs while the supply of state funds lasts. Without the federal and some states kicking in their rebates, solar would just about die off in the USA. It's a sustainables industry that is not sustainable.
But you probably have a much better chance of making it in the Solar industry than my son does. He enters college this fall for a degree in the photography "industry". I guess more people need photos taken than are installing solar arrays, though. It'll be tough for him as a career choice and it's going to cost me a ton of money to put him through school.
About one of the best jobs you could have is perhaps something you don't want. Look into the newer styles of designer food trucks. Trucks that sell lunch and after work or late evening food in the cities you live near. These folks make a good amount of money with very little overhead. Make a great burrito or some kind of "niche" food and you're golden. Hard work, but pays off. Tattoos are probably "expected" in this field of work a well. Clean cut isn't cool in that sub-genre of food services.
(Advice to anyone young who wants tattoos - anything visibile lowers your chance of getting a job by about 50%. Imagine if a $200 tattoo costs you $200,000 in lifetime earnings? It's possible that can make you far less employable. Cooler sure - but is not being employed really "cool" these days? Speaking of cool - my son is really into hard-core bands who don't "sell out" like bands who, you know, make money. His #1 web site is Tumblr to visit. Imagine what he thinks today about Tumblr who "sold out" to Yahoo for $1.1 Billion and made millionaires of the 175 employees there.)PowerOne 3.6 x 2, 32 SolarWorld 255W monoComment
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Don't know about cooler but the dancing girls I have on each forearm I had done since that would tend to irritate a certain type of people - worked well to help in identifying those.
Best I ever did was about one million per year - not bad for a country boy! Next Sunday I get another - all arranged.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Comment
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I have Exit Only tattooed on my butt.MSEE, PEComment
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The thing is, there are many types of people. Some are capable people that do really well and just get tattoos for fun. Then there are those who work to scrape by with just enough income to either get a tattoo or pay their rent for the month and they have a hard time choosing. I live near a lot of those kind of guys.
If you're already a high-output type-A kind of person, you don't need to know who to work for or not to work for. But if the young guy in the OP wants to work in many fields, he should not have "Crusher" tattooed across his forehead.PowerOne 3.6 x 2, 32 SolarWorld 255W monoComment
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When I see a tattooed person the first thing I think is how much do you want to bet this person has a criminal record. More times than not I win the bet. Next applicant please.MSEE, PEComment
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Location...location...location. If you intend on a career in solar, you should go somewhere solar friendly......New York....California...Colorado, even Minnesota which just passed a bunch of new renewable energy requirements. Additionally without a degree, you're really not going to get far in the solar industry with no experience.
Your best bet would be to get into sales for a somewhat reputable local installer, if you excel there, you can move into management for a smaller solar installer and then move up to a nationwide company, get some decent pay and benefits. If you take SEI courses, you can get hired as an installer, but realistically you have nowhere to progress from there. As an installer, whether for a local company or a nationwide company, your pay will be rather meager, the hours crappy and you do a lot of grunt work.
As far as tattoo's, most smaller installers won't give a crap, especially if you're going to be working on installations, if you're going to be doing sales, they may want you to cover them up...wear long sleeved shirts...etc, each company has different policies when it comes to that but it shouldn't be a hindrance to you overall.Comment
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