Future high pay jobs in New England...

[Crane Stoves]

Ive heard over the next 20 years windmill jobs will become one of the most in demand, highly specialized fields to peruse a carrier in for those 30ish year olds out their! One of the major problems is training just is not available on the east coast like it is on the west coast.

Does anyone know how one can best pursue a carrier in this field in New England?
thoughts? ideas? opinions? thanks

 

[WoodPorn]

Local IBEW (103) is the biggest installer of Wind turbines at the moment (around Boston anyway) I'm an Electrician and not a proponent of the IBEW BUT....they do have one of the best training programs in the industry.

 

[btuser]

Local IBEW (103) is the biggest installer of Wind turbines at the moment (around Boston anyway) I'm an Electrician and not a proponent of the IBEW BUT....they do have one of the best training programs in the industry.

Are they ever gonna get that big one turning? I keep driving by it, waiting......

One thing I can say about the unions is you do get good help. In general, (and that's a big general) the union crews I've worked with have been heads and shoulders above non-union labor on a professional basis. You get the "not my problem" and "I'm not authorized" end of it but I appreciate the crews that have pride in the jobs they do. That kind of an attitude always comes from good management who know how to treat people.

 

[peakbagger]

There is technical institute in Northern Me that offers a wind turbine tech program. Maine Maritime Graduates seem to be in demand as wind turbine techs.

Do note that its potentially rough work interspersed with periods of boredom. Things inevitably go wrong under bad conditions and the investment firms that own the turbines want immediately repairs or they will hire someone else. The lifespan of gearbox type units (the majority) are unknown and what happened in the past is when they failed, the investors walked away as they had already made their money.

A typical wind turbine tech needs the skills of an electronic tech, low, medium and high voltage electrician, millwright/mechanical skills and tower climber, its not something a unskilled person will learn over the internet or in a couple of weekends. As many of those individual skills are in demand all over as people retire from the trades I would suggest someone gets the basic qualifications and licenses then the specialized skills.

A general note is that most of the big wind farms in ME and NH were built by non union contractors from the west. Thats all they do and they travel from project to project building them. Generally someone else does the long term maintenance.