Making the Leap to a Low-Carbon Career
The narrative around the ‘just transition’ from high carbon to low carbon is one which is hard to miss at the moment. However, when I made the decision to take the leap 7 years ago, it wasn’t really labelled as such. Industrial trends are more often than not, a case of evolution over revolution, and that’s how it felt for me.
I previously worked for amajor oilfield services company. I enjoyed the work; it was exciting; it was a global industry, with lots of scope for learning, travel and career progression. I’d worked in other sectors too, so perhaps over the years I’ve gotten slightly better at ‘reading the signs’.
For me, it wasn’t that difficult a leap. I only worked in the O&G sector for a few years, and key for me was job security. Back in 2016, the project pipeline that SSE had in place seemed secure and allowed me to throw myself into the projects.
Having job security enabled me to engage fully with the opportunities come with joining a growing business and an expanding team. It allowed me to take a more long-term view of what I wanted to be involved in and how I could build my career. I haven’t regretted it. I still enjoy the work. The scale of projects now rival (and exceed) any of those I was involved in when working in the high carbon sector. The workload (and work type) is varied. The business culture is inclusive, adaptable and supporting. In short, any misgivings I may have harboured have long since evaporated.
Or biggest current challenge, is scale and speed of growth. And what a great challenge to have. I wasn’t involved in high carbon industry during the growth stage, but I’m sure it must have felt a bit like this.
So if you work in the high carbon sector, are reading the signs, then I’d say look past this years buzz phrases. Do you want to be involved in high profile national infrastructure projects? Do you want to join a growth industry? Do you want to join a leading player with all the benefits you would (and should) expect?
Change can be scary, but it can also be exhilarating, rewarding, and just what you needed…..
