Jessica Jackson always dreamed of working outdoors — now, she spends most of her days 300 feet in the air, atop wind turbines.
Jackson, 37, is a wind turbine service technician at Vestas, a wind turbine manufacturer, in Bee County, Texas, and earns $73,000 per year.
Her job requires technical expertise in hydraulics, electrical systems, and mechanical repairs — plus the stamina to haul 50 pounds of gear up narrow ladders in all kinds of weather.
Climbing the turbine tower “isn’t as scary as you’d think,” she tells CNBC Make It. The tallest turbine on the wind farm Jackson works on is about 350 feet above the ground. It takes her less than 10 minutes to get to the top.
“Once you’re up there, you get to see the best views: You’re watching birds fly, eagles, hawks,” she says. “You get to see planes fly by. You get to see as far as you can see. It’s beautiful.”
It isn’t a career for the faint of heart. Wind turbine technicians face one of the highest rates of work-related injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Yet it’s also the fastest-growing job in the U.S., with employment in the sector expected to almost double over the next decade.
“Working in this field is hard, but it’s rewarding,” says Jackson.
Despite the high demand for wind turbine service technicians, the profession remains “underrated and overlooked,” she adds, offering untapped potential for job-seekers who crave adventure and a competitive salary.
A job that can pay six figures, no college degree required
It’s “pretty standard” for employers not to require a bachelor’s degree for technician-level positions, according to Vanessa Benedetti, Vestas’ senior director of training operations and workforce development.
“What’s more important is that you have a willingness to learn, love to tinker and can get your hands dirty,” she adds.
While you don’t need a bachelor’s degree to become a wind turbine service technician, some jobs might require you to complete a 2-year technical program or apprenticeship. Others, like Blattner Energy and Vestas, will provide on-the-job training for new hires.
Vestas’ training covers best practices for the turbine’s electrical equipment, technical procedures like bolt torque and tensioning, as well as first aid and safety protocols.
Before becoming a wind technician, Jackson, who has four children, spent a decade as a stay-at-home mom.
After she and her husband separated in 2019, Jackson decided to return to the workforce but was worried her opportunities would be limited without a bachelor’s degree.
Her ex-husband recommended her for a job at Blattner Energy, a renewable energy contractor in northern Texas, installing tower wiring. That job introduced Jackson to Vestas, where she started working in February 2020.
Jackson, 37, has been working as a wind turbine service technician for four and a half years.
Mickey Todiwala | CNBC Make It
Jackson enrolled in college online part-time while working as a wind tech and finished her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Arizona in 2022.
Her long-term goal is to become a lead technician at Vestas, a role that pays about $100,000 a year.
The median annual salary for wind turbine service technicians is $61,770; however, many earn over $90,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“It’s one of those rare fields where you feel like you are your own boss,” says Jackson. “You get to decide how quickly you move up the career ladder and how much you earn.”
A day on the job
Jackson gets to work at 7 a.m. and ends her shift by 5:30 p.m. She works five days a week.
The hardest part of her job is the climb. Jackson has to scale a narrow, metal ladder inside the turbine and pull herself through a hatch at the top to access the turbine’s nacelle, which sits atop the tower and contains the machine’s main parts. It’s a vertical climb up nearly 30 stories.
The largest wind turbine tower Jackson works on is about 344 feet high.
Mickey Todiwala | CNBC Make It
“Cutting any corners with safety could be the reason why I don’t go home that day,” says Jackson, who wears gloves, glasses, a helmet, harness and other protective equipment on the job. “Once you’re up there, you’re in your office and ready to work. Everything else is easier.”
The job might be physically demanding, but Jackson says spending so much time outside on the farm — and climbing the towers — has helped her feel “stronger and healthier.”
‘It’s a career with longevity’
Benedetti has seen hiring for technicians in the U.S. “ebb and flow” over the past decade depending on demand, production tax credits and supply chain issues.
Right now, “we’re seeing a huge investment in wind energy technologies,” she says. Global offshore wind investment hit an all-time high in 2023, reaching a record $76.7 billion, according to BloombergNEF’s Renewable Energy Investment Tracker.
At Vestas, the average contract for a technician is about 13 years. “It’s a career that has longevity and gives people the opportunity to learn and grow within their careers, and also to stay and feel settled within their community, which is really wonderful,” Benedetti adds.
At least 2,100 technicians are expected to be hired every year over the next decade, per the Labor Department’s latest estimates, an increase driven by both new projects and the need to maintain existing turbines.
Jackson plans to work as a technician until she retires in her 70s, if not sooner.
As she climbs the career ladder — both literally and figuratively — Jackson hopes to inspire others, particularly women and those without college degrees, to consider becoming wind techs.
“My best advice would be to go for it,” she says. “I never imagined myself in this field, but I’m extremely grateful for my job and I love what I do. … You’ll never know unless you try.”
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