Green economy jobs provide a new hope to rebuild and shape the economy while bettering the planet.  California is gearing up to be the nation's clean technology leader and innovation center.  Over the past three years, California has been the leading state in various green initiatives ranging from energy efficiency to clean technology venture capital investment.  In addition to private investment, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken the necessary steps to foster the growth of a green economy by creating the California Green Corps.

With a 10% year of year growth in green jobs and continued public and private investment, the green economy offers plenty of opportunities in the way of jobs.

Below is a list of the ten best sectors within the California green economy.
 

1. Organic Farmer: With a growing demand for organic foods, organic farming provides one of the finest jobs in the green economy. Combine that with aging farmers and plenty of government subsidizes, organic farming can easily prove to be a solid life long career.
2. Energy Efficiency Consultant: Private businesses and governments in California are expected to spend over $5 billion in the next five years on various energy efficiency projects. They will require energy efficiency consultants to guide them through the options and decision making process to create a sustainable energy efficient processes through tactics ranging from carbon reduction to water conservation.
3. Green Builder: Construction and Architectural firms are aggressively looking for people certified in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).  By 2013, the overall green building market (both residential and non-residential) is expected to more than double.  Sustainable green building and development practices will account for nearly 20% of construction projects over the next 3-5 years in California.  The adoption of laws geared toward green building standards will only further fuel the demand for such skills.
4. Solar Energy Engineer:  These engineers deal with Photovoltaics, the process of converting light (photons) to electricity (voltage).  With over 3,500 solar power companies nation wide, the competition to develop best of breed products is getting stronger by the minute.  These companies will need engineers to design, develop, and test that latest the solar industry has to offer.
5. Sustainable Manufacturer:  There is quite a range of possibilities when it comes to creating sustainable manufacturing methods. Some of the more simple examples refer to creating packaging materials from recycled components while reusing waste as an energy source. Other areas can include minimizing environment impact during a manufacturing process.
6. Solar Panel Installer:  More and more businesses & homes are looking to take advantage of sunlight while cutting down on energy bills by installing solar panels on rooftops to power everything from electricity to water heating.  Solar electricity production will have risen by over 120% by the end of 2009 .  Expect that number to only increase as more state & local government subsidies help pay for the cost of installation.
7. Urban Planner: Urban planners will play a key role in the development of environmentally friendly cities by curbing urban sprawl, developing new and innovative transit systems, and just basically lowering the city's carbon footprint.  This type of position will have an even greater impact in a state like California where population growth is still at an accelerated pace.
8. Conservation Biologist:  The need to reduce pollution and work with the environment and not against it will require the expertise of conservation biologists to preserve ecosystems and facilitate natural resource management.  Conservation biologists will be needed by not only government and business, but also academia and non-profits.
9. Recylcer: Recycling is a multi-billion dollar industry in California comprised of diverse recycling sectors such as paper, glass, scrap metal, and oil.  California has over 1,787 recycling companies operating more than 3,000 facilities.  A recent government initiative to meet a 50% recycling goal for the state will add $2 billion to California's economy and create over 45,000 new jobs over the next seven years
10. Wind Energy Farmer:  California has more than 13,000 wind turbines, but only located within three primary regions of the state.  With recently signed legislation requiring 33% of electricity come from renewable sources by 2020, expect more wind farms to sprout up across California.