<p>Oh, and to be in renewables, you have to go where the work is. Be very willing to relocate, and sometimes to less desirable places to do the work that most interest you. There is always a sacrifice for what you love.</p>
<p>3 years after this discussion was started, I’m having the same problem deciding MS programs/schools for renewable energy. Rarely, schools have programs called MS in Renewable Energy. A lot of them are offered through Electrical, Mechanical or Civil/Environmental departments. So, it needs a lot of digging through their websites.</p>
<p>OIT has good Undergraduate program but they don’t offer MS yet. Three good ones that I’ve identified so far and offer MS degrees are Stanford’s Atmsphere/Energy, UC Boulder’s ECE and UC Berkeley’s Energy & Resources. Does anyone know of other good ones?</p>
<p>Also, since someone suggested that students should go to uni where the job is. Well, where are renewable jobs?</p>
<p>It’s True: there aren’t many Renewable Energy programs out there.
In fact, few universities have a single class in renewable energy systems or photovoltaics. Clean Tech has only been respectable for 10 years now tops. It is decidedly still cutting edge and not mainstream. This sounds like bad news, until you think about all the extra competition for jobs you would have faced if every university was churning out super-specialized clean tech engineers. Be glad the band wagon hasn’t taken off quite yet. </p>
<p>That said, there are a few university that do seem to have specialist engineering programs. U of CO Boulder (connected to N.R.E.L.!), Oregon Inst of Tech. Top engineering schools. Ideally, the University will have institutions/programs/courses with “Energy” in the names rather than “Environment”. Maybe others will recommend more renewables-focused engineering programs.</p>
<p>Since there aren’t renewable energy majors specifically, you should major in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering. Try to set up something interdisciplinary with your university to avoid a few of the most-unrelated engineering courses. Employers only care about the quality of your degree. If you can handle it, this is Certainly the most direct route into clean tech. Most graduate programs in Renewable energy do require a undergrad degree in science/engineering. I think it’s a fact that people who know more about technology will make more money than those that don’t.</p>
<p>If you just can’t do the hard engineering, then I recommend majoring in Economics/Business and approaching the industry from that direction. Being able to do complex financial analyses is a HUGE part of the game. Take a year of Chemistry, a minor in Physics, and leave the really tough engineering to the Eggheads! Look for courses in power production and the environment. You’ll be in a great position to get in the industry.</p>
<p>With Environmental Engineering, you’re focusing on pollution. Computer modeling of climate and ecosystems, chemical analysis, making detailed measurements in exciting topics ranging from unproductive dirt to glacial air bubbles. When it comes to renewable energy, you’ll only be equipped to Complain about the problem, and not be able to develop solutions. I submit that if an “Environmentalist” is to have any effect whatsoever, you’ll have to go to law school, and then go after polluters or go into public policy. But understand that climate change is an energy problem. Honestly, you would be more useful and in demand if you learned to speak Chinese.</p>
<p>By far the best programs are at Stanford and UC Berkley, incredibly competitive schools. Stanford and UC Berkley is where the action is, and if you got in there you Will Be Set For Life. But understand you need to study until you can score 1600 SAT, 800 SAT 2 Physics AND Chemistry. Get the Spark Notes, skip class, and work that book cover to cover. This is to High school students but also Undergraduates, you can apply to transfer to the top schools, but you need the test scores and you need A’s in freshman Chem, Physics, & Calc.
Assuming you can’t get in, you should Definitely take advantage of their Free Online Courses, this is an Outstanding resource you can download free to your iPod:
[Energy</a> Seminar (Fall 2007) - Download free content from Stanford on iTunes<a href=“Start%20with%20%22Future%20of%20Concentrating%20Solar%22%20for%20a%20taste”>/url</a></p>
<p>Finally, anyone interested pursuing Renewable Energy professionally is Strongly encouraged to read this book, the single best primer on the Solar industry and why you should be excited about it: Solar Revolution by Travis Bradford. $1.25 for a used copy on Amazon.
[url=<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262524945/sr=8-1/qid=1327963225/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1327963225&sr=8-1&seller=]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262524945/sr=8-1/qid=1327963225/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1327963225&sr=8-1&seller=]Amazon.com:</a> Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry (9780262524940): Travis Bradford: Books](<a href=“Energy Seminar (Fall 2007) by Stanford on Apple Podcasts”>Energy Seminar (Fall 2007) by Stanford on Apple Podcasts)
It’s a better education in clean tech than 95% of universities could give you, and it’s $1.25, and that, friends, is the dirty little secret of college. But don’t worry, clean tech is destined to be the Next Great World-Changing Technology, and wisely investing in your diploma is the smartest thing you can do. </p>
<p>Best of luck to all of you!</p>
<p>Fascinating. I enjoyed and learned from every post.</p>
<p>Top Geothermal programs are U of Nevada Reno with five of the top US companies doing geothermal in town, one is Swiss: NV has the most active geothermal activity in the nation, wind blowing off theSierra Nevada like you wouldn’t believe, and 300 days of sunshine. the last geothermal conference was in Reno. other programs participating were Cornell, Stanford, UofUtah, UofO and another. UNR is affordable and their engineering depart is one of their strongest. Learn Mandarin: china super poluted, needing help and their gov just ruled last week that their Ivy League level univerisities no longer have to demand Eng and soon none. Meaning they are so strong economically , no debt, owning our debt, people to spare to fight wars, and advanced stem colleges and requirements beyond ours, that they feel they hold the future’s cards and if anyone wants to do business with them, they’d better speak Mandarin. Kind of like how Americans/English/Aussie/Kiwis/some Canadians have not bothered to learn other languages ,cause this past couple centuries English has been king. I 'llwager that half through this century American schools will require it, just like somany foreigners have required English for their population. Such a horrific language too: thousands of pictures to memorize, no alphabet, four ways to say each picture with different tones for completely different meaning. If only we could all just speak simple Spanish with it’s no-exceptions and what you say is what you write…back to energy and school and jobs: think into the future.</p>