Wind
Wind jobs in the U.S.: 132,984 employed (2024)
Every state ranked by wind employment
Wind occupations — national median wages
| Role | SOC | National median | Job Zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Energy Engineer | 17-2199.10 | $100,940 | 4 |
| Wind Turbine Service Technician | 49-9081.00 | $61,770 | 3 |
Skill profile for wind roles
Top skills
Critical Thinking3.75
Reading Comprehension3.50
Complex Problem Solving3.32
Judgment and Decision Making3.31
Operations Monitoring3.31
Active Listening3.25
Speaking3.25
Systems Analysis3.25
Knowledge
Engineering and Technology4.25
Computers and Electronics4.08
English Language4.06
Mechanical3.92
Mathematics3.83
Physics3.65
Design3.48
Administration and Management3.44
Core abilities
Deductive Reasoning3.75
Problem Sensitivity3.69
Oral Comprehension3.57
Inductive Reasoning3.50
Near Vision3.50
Written Comprehension3.50
Oral Expression3.32
Written Expression3.19
Representative tasks for wind workers
- Inspect or repair fiberglass turbine blades. (Supplemental)
- Collect turbine data for testing or research and analysis. (Core)
- Design underground or overhead wind farm collector systems. (Supplemental)
- Write reports to document wind farm collector system test results. (Supplemental)
- Climb wind turbine towers to inspect, maintain, or repair equipment. (Core)
- Perform root cause analysis on wind turbine tower component failures. (Supplemental)
- Test wind turbine equipment to determine effects of stress or fatigue. (Supplemental)
- Diagnose problems involving wind turbine generators or control systems. (Core)
- Oversee the work activities of wind farm consultants or subcontractors. (Supplemental)
- Start or restart wind turbine generator systems to ensure proper operations. (Core)
- Provide engineering technical support to designers of prototype wind turbines. (Supplemental)
- Assist in assembly of individual wind generators or construction of wind farms. (Supplemental)
Software and tools used in wind roles
Microsoft Word 🔥
Structured query language SQL 🔥
Microsoft Excel 🔥
Microsoft Office software 🔥
Microsoft Outlook 🔥
Microsoft PowerPoint 🔥
Microsoft Project 🔥
Oracle Java 🔥
ESRI ArcGIS software 🔥
Tableau 🔥
Microsoft .NET Framework 🔥
The MathWorks MATLAB 🔥
Microsoft Access 🔥
Amazon Web Services AWS software 🔥
UNIX 🔥
Extensible markup language XML 🔥
Apache Subversion SVN 🔥
Autodesk AutoCAD 🔥
Bentley MicroStation 🔥
Python 🔥
C# 🔥
Git 🔥
Microsoft SQL Server 🔥
C++ 🔥
Education & training paths into wind
IM
Job-Related Professional Certification2.8%
Apprenticeship2.4%
OJ
On-the-Job Training12.5%
PT
On-Site or In-Plant Training11.8%
Required Level of Education
Required Level of Education18.2%
Related Work Experience (Years)
Related Work Experience12.5%
Workforce composition of U.S. wind workers
| Demographic | Share of sector |
|---|---|
| 18 to 29 (%) | 29.3% |
| 30 to 54 (%) | 53.7% |
| 55 and over (%) | 17.0% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native (%) | 1.6% |
| Asian (%) | 8.9% |
| Black or African American, not Indigenous (%) | 7.8% |
| Female (%) | 28.8% |
| Formerly Incarcerated (%) | 2.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino (%) | 21.9% |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (%) | 1.4% |
| Not Hispanic or Latino (%) | 78.1% |
| Represented by a Union (%) | 13.1% |
| Self-Identification of Disability (%) | 2.2% |
| Two or More Races (%) | 5.6% |
| Unknown Race (%) | 3.4% |
| Veterans (%) | 9.2% |
| White (%) | 71.3% |
Clean-energy technologies × NAICS industry groups (national)
| Technology | Construction (NAICS 23) | Manufacturing (NAICS 32-33) | Other (NAICS 81) | Professional Services (NAICS 51-56) | Wholesale Trade (42-45) | Utilities (NAICS 22) | Mining and Extraction (NAICS 21) | Agriculture (NAICS 11) | Commodity Flows | Pipeline Transportation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced building materials/insulation | 27,856 | 58,851 | 1,124 | 26,320 | 1,320 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Advanced Natural Gas | 10,421 | 2,677 | 843 | 11,730 | 5,522 | 49,375 | — | — | — | — |
| Air sealing | 37,359 | 2,349 | 252 | 12,330 | 18,881 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Battery | 41,225 | 14,294 | 1,154 | 13,408 | 8,727 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bio | 5,864 | 1,096 | 418 | 2,889 | 644 | 2,383 | — | — | — | — |
| Biodiesel fuels | — | 519 | 2 | 4,790 | 410 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Biofuels | 1,040 | — | 54 | 379 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified air-source heat pumps | 28,365 | 14,025 | 821 | 12,422 | 14,921 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Appliances (not including HVAC) | 72,696 | 12,910 | 3,191 | 39,145 | 14,269 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Commercial Food Service Equipment | 15,722 | 3,794 | 674 | 9,169 | 2,135 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Data Center Equipment | 1,577 | 4,829 | 2,304 | 234 | 3,643 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Electronics (TVs, Telephones, Audio/Video, etc.) | 154 | 3,924 | 1,072 | 270 | 1,833 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified ground-source or geothermal heat pumps | 2,691 | 1,542 | 68 | 1,201 | 1,575 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling (HVAC), except for air-source or ground-source heat pumps | 164,338 | 20,997 | 2,373 | 9,043 | 5,968 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Insulation | 101,927 | 7,328 | 201 | 4,781 | 1,221 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified LED lighting | 60,886 | 14,047 | 2,984 | 55,136 | 19,324 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Roofing | 22,738 | 7,167 | 255 | 2,842 | 1,328 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified water heaters | 15,553 | 420 | 94 | 4,310 | 1,713 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Certified Windows, Doors and Skylights | 14,546 | 1,149 | 424 | 7,930 | 2,104 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coal | 6,441 | 992 | 855 | 23,570 | 5,943 | 22,639 | 44,740 | — | — | — |
| Combined Heat and Power | 4,228 | 1,976 | 183 | 19,248 | 4,144 | 1,607 | — | — | — | — |
| Compressed NG | 53 | 26 | 0 | 385 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Corn Ethanol | — | 9,572 | 108 | 2,884 | 6,959 | — | — | 16,552 | — | — |
| Crude Oil | 427 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Electric Power Generation Total | 303,682 | 108,685 | 43,216 | 205,662 | 83,064 | 189,490 | — | — | — | — |
| Energy auditing services | 1,364 | 0 | 132 | 1,191 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Energy Efficiency Total | 1,297,543 | 327,716 | 42,991 | 503,139 | 210,354 | — | — | — | — | — |
| EPTD Total | 488,025 | 66,618 | 13,370 | 130,290 | 43,195 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 55,771 |
| EV Charging | 1,324 | 182 | 166 | 641 | 579 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fuels Total | 22,939 | 239,977 | 1,999 | 179,447 | 143,664 | — | 429,858 | 36,486 | — | — |
| Geothermal | 5,312 | 282 | 27 | 1,921 | 430 | 1,007 | — | — | — | — |
| Land-based Wind | 43,801 | 24,089 | 2,757 | 35,945 | 13,946 | 11,336 | — | — | — | — |
| LNG | 484 | 260 | 11 | 313 | 198 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Low Impact Hydropower | 1,894 | 3,215 | 68 | 4,379 | 2,555 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mechanical | 103 | 1,422 | 13 | 446 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Micro Grid | 12,299 | 3,651 | 552 | 3,246 | 1,722 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Motor Vehicles (Aggregate of Vehicle Technologies) | — | 290,671 | 1,023,239 | 66,390 | 54,356 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Motor Vehicles Component Parts | — | 710,911 | — | — | 377,263 | — | — | — | 110,298 | — |
| Motor Vehicles Total | — | 1,001,582 | 1,023,239 | 66,390 | 431,619 | — | — | — | 110,298 | 0 |
| Nat Gas | 11,016 | 3,474 | 1,070 | 8,623 | 3,514 | 19,578 | — | — | — | — |
| Nuclear | 0 | 1,731 | 0 | 76 | 2,494 | 40,100 | — | — | — | — |
| Nuclear Fuel | — | 2,794 | 0 | 5,779 | 947 | — | 440 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Natural Gas | — | 5,424 | 29 | 13,467 | 167 | — | 3,176 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Petroleum | — | 41,201 | 760 | 10,089 | 1,727 | — | 35,753 | — | — | — |
| Offshore Wind | 356 | 170 | 30 | 539 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oil and Other Petroleum | — | 5,312 | 132 | 4,430 | 2,147 | 454 | — | — | — | — |
| Onshore Natural Gas | — | 40,129 | 137 | 25,026 | 30,144 | — | 134,931 | — | — | — |
| Onshore Petroleum | 22,939 | 104,254 | 538 | 60,323 | 60,063 | — | 210,818 | — | — | — |
| Other | 31,125 | 40,672 | 3,025 | 19,067 | 4,904 | 4,703 | — | — | — | — |
| Other Biofuels | — | 162 | 25 | 4,124 | 1,159 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Ethanol/Non-Woody Biomass, including Biodiesel | — | 2,784 | 71 | 10,251 | 5,837 | — | — | 2,756 | — | — |
| Other Fossil Fuel | — | 2,960 | 106 | 5,422 | 7,897 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Gas | 280 | — | 0 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Grid Modernization | 17,410 | 2,056 | 268 | 2,952 | 276 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other LED, CFL, and efficient lighting | 116,334 | 40,494 | 538 | 40,217 | 24,478 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Liquid Fuel | 53 | — | 0 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other renewable heating and cooling (geothermal, biomass, heat pumps, etc.) | 53,164 | 4,745 | 128 | 16,962 | 5,006 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Other Storage | 155 | — | 0 | 41 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pumped Hydro | 3,983 | 2,602 | 78 | 1,545 | 315 | — | — | — | — | 1,275 |
| Recycled building materials | 44,742 | 10,910 | 2,817 | 17,762 | 3,279 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Reduced water consumption products and appliances | 58,835 | 7,500 | 1,283 | 21,813 | 5,849 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Refined Petrol Fuels (Gas) | 464 | — | 217 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Refined Petrol Fuels (Liquid) | 414 | 278 | 225 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Renewable diesel fuels | — | 542 | 1 | 3,764 | 107 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smart Grid | 12,380 | 1,678 | 185 | 11,350 | 1,627 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Solar | 181,671 | 46,513 | 35,852 | 58,487 | 31,700 | 16,333 | — | — | — | — |
| Solar thermal water heating and cooling | 16,530 | 2,666 | 656 | 8,426 | 3,221 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Storage Total | 49,743 | 19,057 | 1,833 | 17,171 | 9,355 | — | — | — | — | 1,275 |
| Thermal | 748 | 174 | 82 | 379 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Trad Transmission and Distribution | 365,840 | 43,302 | 12,108 | 84,539 | 37,639 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 55,771 |
| Traditional HVAC goods, control systems, and services | 330,635 | 31,799 | 17,046 | 166,352 | 63,484 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Traditional Hydropower | 9,353 | 13,162 | 237 | 9,006 | 6,357 | 19,975 | — | — | — | — |
| Transmission, Distribution, and Storage Total | 537,767 | 85,675 | 15,203 | 147,461 | 52,550 | 443,621 | — | — | 124,336 | 57,047 |
| Waste fuels | — | 154 | 4 | 4,356 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Woody Biomass/Cellulosic Biofuel | — | 4,670 | 44 | 10,833 | 1,049 | — | — | 17,178 | — | — |