Though students are donning red and blue for graduation, the color that is on many of their minds is green.

From solar panel construction to sustainable architecture, the UA and other partnerships are helping students to pursue green jobs. Lizzie Schloss, the interim director of Career Services, noting the breadth of the field, urged students to figure out where they want to be within the field before jumping in.

“”The first step is for students to think about how they want to work in sustainability and the specific skills they have,”” Schloss said. “”The next step is to think about the type of organization. The sustainability movement is affecting all sectors of the work world. Because the field is so broad and encompasses so many types of positions and organizations, it means students have to commit to spending time researching information. We have a number of resources to assist students.””

This summer, Career Services will be formulating information on social impact careers, such as those in sustainability, and expect to offer new websites and workshops when students return for the fall semester.

The definition of a “”green job”” is hard to determine.

“”For instance, let’s take a nuclear physicist that goes to work in a nuclear power plant. Is that a green job?”” said Marshall Vest, director of economic business research. “”How about someone who goes to work on an assembly line building hybrid cars? Is that a green job? Some might say then the car is hybrid, and then it’s green. But others might say that building a car itself is clearly not.””

Vest noted that sustainability efforts around campus can help students gain access to work in sustainability.

The Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy, or AzRise, has been working with the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture toward including sustainability in their program for several years.

Many organizations around Tucson, including Sustainable Tucson, are utilizing the students’ training in sustainability. Sustainable Tucson is an organization that facilitates Tucson’s sustainability mission through education and collaborative action.

Judith Mattson, a co-chair at Sustainable Tucson, noted that they both create sustainable materials and educate people about sustainability through public relations.

For many students, the prospect of finding green jobs is promising but unclear.

“”I think it’s worthwhile to develop an understanding of what green really means,”” Vest said. “”All of this can help students find something that might help their resume, and that’s a green job.””