Translating Development Sector Skills to Climate Careers

The biggest myth about climate careers? That you have to take a pay cut for purpose. The data says the exact opposite. A new report from RMIT University and Deloitte (linked in the comments) reveals the market is paying a significant ‘green premium’ for managers with climate skills – an average of 13% more, or an extra $13,000 annually. 💰 This is a clear price signal from a market facing a severe talent bottleneck. That same report projects a need for over 1 million more green-skilled workers in Australia by 2030, just to keep pace with demand from medium and large businesses. The Clean Energy Council backs this up, suggesting the energy transition alone could create an additional 604,000 jobs by 2030. When does a skills 'gap' start to look more like a careers 'gold rush'? And while businesses report that cost and time are major barriers to upskilling their own teams, that creates a huge opportunity for proactive individuals. But what does this 'green premium' look like in real life? It looks like Rob Chan. I recently featured Rob in my #HumansOfSydneyClimateAction series (see carousel or https://lnkd.in/gNp_62sg). Look no further than this to see how expert skills can be leveraged for climate impact. After influential roles at mobility giants like Uber and Zoomo, he’s now the Managing Director for Turo Australia, actively decarbonising transport by scaling the car-sharing marketplace. Rob’s "ah-ha!" moment was deeply personal, intertwined with becoming a parent during the Black Summer bushfires. That personal drive, combined with his deep professional expertise in marketplaces, made his skillset incredibly valuable to a sector desperate for experienced leaders. He's a great example of how you don't start from scratch. You pivot. I see this pattern all over our Climate Crew community. It's people like James Butler, taking his deep strategic experience from Bain & Company and Qantas to become Head of Strategy at Ausgrid, right at the heart of the energy transition. It's Alison Chan, transitioning from a decade as a Director at a magic circle law firm to become a leader in sustainable finance. Their stories prove the point: the challenge is learning to translate world-class skills from other industries to bridge the perceived 'experience gap'. Engineers, accountants, marketers, lawyers, project managers – your expertise is in high demand. A year ago, I invested in myself by taking the Terra.do 'Learning for Action' course to deepen my own climate knowledge. It helped me connect my existing skills in photography and storytelling to where they could have the most impact. The transition doesn't need everyone to become a climate scientist. It needs skilled professionals to apply what they already know to solving new, urgent and well-funded problems. The opportunity is immense. The demand is proven. The premium is real. #GreenSkills #ClimateCareers #CareerPivot #EnergyTransition

Starting a Career in Climate feels like being lost in the desert. To find water, you must first ignore everyone telling you this 👇 We all know the people who tell you. → If you try hard enough, it’ll work. → Just apply for more jobs → It’s a numbers game. → Next week is better. Ignore all those words. Here’s what you do instead 👇 1️⃣ Fundamentals first Look at the entire climate economy. Pick two sub-sectors. → Start with the solutions map from Climate Drift. → Use the Project Drawdown solution library to drill deeper. Learn everything you can about your 2 sectors. 2️⃣ Find your Transferable Skills Most people completely underestimate their professional skills. Write down the answer to: “What am I really good at and why?” Then find your current job within a climate company. And map your skills to that job. 👉 Share “what you’re really good at” in the comments. I will give feedback + it will inspire others + it will help you become better 💪 3️⃣ Find your Pitch Find somebody doing your “future” job in a climate company. Ask them how they do their job. Pay attention to: → How they describe their work. → What tools do they use. → What KPIs matter. Focus on their words. Learn the language of a climate company in your target sector. And then use that intel to refine your pitch. 👉 Find people to talk to here: → #OpenDoorClimate climate by Daniel Hill has many climate tech execs.  → MCJ Collective by Jason Jacobs, Yin Lu, Leone Baron is one of the best. → Work on Climate by Eugene Kirpichov, Eva Marina, Nicole Sturzenberger is equally great. 4️⃣ Think Skills-Sector Fit. Not Impact. Everyone wants to work on something with a huge CO2 impact. That’s great. BUT Don’t re-invent yourself so you can work in a “big impact” sector. Go where your skills fit best. Where you can actually move the needle. Because the best impact is the impact that happens. Not the impact you keep chasing but never materializes. Use this list to find water in the desert. And make yourself successful 🙌 —— PS. In case you’re wondering ❓Why trust my advice❓ Maybe this helps (slightly blushing as I write this 😳) → I taught 100s of students at the best universities (Harvard, etc.) → Personally helped 1,000s of people transition careers. → Built a 6-figure, 7-figure, and a 8-figure business. → Advising 10+ early stage impact companies. PPS. 👉 If you want help with your career transition? 👈  Here are two options: 👉I’m offering 50 Free 1on1 Career Mentorship sessions (I have 200+ people on the waitlist 🤯) 👉I’m running a 1-day Climate Career Transition Workshop (Links in first comment).

My career began in International Development, although I’ve been in corporate #sustainability for ~8 years now. Sharing my thoughts on this pivot for those considering a switch. * Much of my network has been impacted by the recent #stopwork orders. My heart is with you, friends. I hope many of you will be able to return to your careers, by some legal or legislative miracle. But, if you’re considering a switch, here are some things to consider about pivoting your passion for impact into a corporate career: 1. There’s no ✨magic door✨ —> A successful pivot into the corporate world, especially corporate sustainability, is like most other careers: ——> Your chances will be greatly improved by highlighting transferable skills and building a strong network. —> Ultimately, my pivot was made possible because someone in my network understood my skillset and vouched for me. I recorded a Voiz Academy podcast about my journey here: https://lnkd.in/gRURuwmi 2. Be clear about your transferable skills ✅ —> In corporate sustainability, we need people who have: - Technical expertise in human rights, agriculture, the environment, and global supply chains. - Project/ program management backgrounds with a focus on cost management and impact measurement. - Experience speaking pursuasively, to different audiences, often with competing priorities. - The ability to thrive in high-pressure and/ or ambiguous situations, demonstrating flexibility and innovation when faced with challenges. 3. Expand your network 🤝 —> Daniel Hill started the #opendoorclimate movement. —-> People who work in #climate, including corporate sustainability folks, have joined this movement and are offering to chat with anyone interested in making the switch. —-> Take advantage of this global resource 4. Consider upskilling and/ or career coaching 🎓 —> Although not essential, you might consider taking a course to develop your skillset. Something like: - Climate Drift has a Career Accelerator for mid-career and executive level professionals transitioning into the climate sector. —-> Next cohort starts February 24th - The Voiz Academy has both career coaching and climate upskilling options, especially for roles like Decarbonization Analyst and Sustainability Analyst. - PCDN.Global has a more broad social impact offering, and I can’t say enough good things about career coaching from Craig Zelizer. 5. Keep a close eye on global supply chain regulations. ⚖️ —> Get to know CSRD, CS3D, EUDR, and others. —-> These have been and will continue to be highly influential in the corporate space. —> As these evolve, so too will corporate sustainability. Position yourself with this context in mind. * Who else has made this pivot? What did I miss? * #SustainableAgriculture