Hey David, I'm a climate newbie who's been learning about this stuff mainly by binging your podcast and Googling all the things I don't understand.
1. Any ur-texts you'd recommend to newcomers? Does it make sense to start listening to Volts from the very beginning, or has enough changed in the interim that reverse-engineering the more rec…
Hey David, I'm a climate newbie who's been learning about this stuff mainly by binging your podcast and Googling all the things I don't understand.
1. Any ur-texts you'd recommend to newcomers? Does it make sense to start listening to Volts from the very beginning, or has enough changed in the interim that reverse-engineering the more recent episodes is smarter?
2. Are you familiar with the "Fellowships" on offer by green jobs-posting sites like Climatebase and Terra.do? I'm now trying to get a job in climate (thanks in large part to Volts, fyi); are they worth ponying up for?
A follow up general Volts philosophy/audience question on this. Do you have people relatively new to climate in mind as an audience for Volts and do you plan on any general primers type content on certain umbrella topics? You’ve certainly written enough regarding this in the past, but maybe not in a such structured way of bringing someone new up to speed on what they should ultimately know on all the pieces of the climate puzzle at a higher level. Where do you sit with this type of content? Is it interesting for you or a pain in the ass? I can imagine it is not so podcast friendly and/or should be attempted in a more written format. Curious to know all your thoughts on the matter!
@Jon - I can’t speak about those 2 websites, but I guess my question would be what does "get a job in climate" mean to you? It depends a lot on your skills and interests. You could be doing anything from installing solar panels, engineering some very specific tech in a cement factory or being a keyboard crusader in a NGO. My sense is you are in the discovery phase, so keep reading and trying things, see what you gravitate to and try to figure out why. Some other links for you: climatesolutions-careers.org/ (started by a fellow Volter Jeff) and collegetoclimate.co I would also recommend scanning through David’s older work on Vox and reading anything that jumps out vox.com/authors/david-roberts
I know that David answered this question on the mailbag but a heads up that the Volts team recently put together a Volts "primer", the release of which is TBD but soon. However, it's more of a "best-of" guide rather than something truly introductory.
Thanks for the reply, Matt! I will for sure check out those links.
I am definitely still in the discovery phase. My career to date has been as a marketing copywriter for tech companies, so something writing/comms/policy adjacent I think makes practical sense.
I'm trying to go for maximum impact... while being realistic about applying to jobs I have a chance at landing.
I feel like a lot of times guests on Volts will say the best thing you can do for the cause is to just raise awareness and help get the national conversation going, so maybe that would be the best use of my time and energy? Like, every episode is so fascinating to me, I can't help but feel there's a huge opportunity to get more people interested in this stuff. Just not sure how I can do that in a way that pays me a living wage.
I know a fair amount of people who've done terra.do or climatebase fellowships. The feedback is mixed. If you want to learn some climate basics, start to establish a network and learn a snippet of the lay of the land, they're not bad places to start. But the fellowships themselves don't have the cache (or training) to get someone directly hired in climate.
The climate sector is hard to break into. Not impossible, but like any sector, it takes time and work and hustle and luck. Volts can absolutely arm you with enough knowledge to be dangerous but depending on where you are in your career, it may make sense to continue on your current path and apply a climate lens to your work. I often say that the non-climate professionals within companies are the most effective advocates and I sincerely believe that. You might want to check out drawdown.org/programs/drawdown-labs/job-function-action-guides and workonclimate.org
Appreciate the follow-up, Samuel! I'm starting a fellowship program with Climate Drift later this month, geared towards mid-career folks trying to transition into climate, so I'm hopeful it'll help. I also have an idea for a clean energy newsletter of my own -- taking a stab at a wide-reaching introductory angle with the goal of turning more people onto talking and caring about these things.
Hey David, I'm a climate newbie who's been learning about this stuff mainly by binging your podcast and Googling all the things I don't understand.
1. Any ur-texts you'd recommend to newcomers? Does it make sense to start listening to Volts from the very beginning, or has enough changed in the interim that reverse-engineering the more recent episodes is smarter?
2. Are you familiar with the "Fellowships" on offer by green jobs-posting sites like Climatebase and Terra.do? I'm now trying to get a job in climate (thanks in large part to Volts, fyi); are they worth ponying up for?
A follow up general Volts philosophy/audience question on this. Do you have people relatively new to climate in mind as an audience for Volts and do you plan on any general primers type content on certain umbrella topics? You’ve certainly written enough regarding this in the past, but maybe not in a such structured way of bringing someone new up to speed on what they should ultimately know on all the pieces of the climate puzzle at a higher level. Where do you sit with this type of content? Is it interesting for you or a pain in the ass? I can imagine it is not so podcast friendly and/or should be attempted in a more written format. Curious to know all your thoughts on the matter!
@Jon - I can’t speak about those 2 websites, but I guess my question would be what does "get a job in climate" mean to you? It depends a lot on your skills and interests. You could be doing anything from installing solar panels, engineering some very specific tech in a cement factory or being a keyboard crusader in a NGO. My sense is you are in the discovery phase, so keep reading and trying things, see what you gravitate to and try to figure out why. Some other links for you: climatesolutions-careers.org/ (started by a fellow Volter Jeff) and collegetoclimate.co I would also recommend scanning through David’s older work on Vox and reading anything that jumps out vox.com/authors/david-roberts
I know that David answered this question on the mailbag but a heads up that the Volts team recently put together a Volts "primer", the release of which is TBD but soon. However, it's more of a "best-of" guide rather than something truly introductory.
Thanks for the reply, Matt! I will for sure check out those links.
I am definitely still in the discovery phase. My career to date has been as a marketing copywriter for tech companies, so something writing/comms/policy adjacent I think makes practical sense.
I'm trying to go for maximum impact... while being realistic about applying to jobs I have a chance at landing.
I feel like a lot of times guests on Volts will say the best thing you can do for the cause is to just raise awareness and help get the national conversation going, so maybe that would be the best use of my time and energy? Like, every episode is so fascinating to me, I can't help but feel there's a huge opportunity to get more people interested in this stuff. Just not sure how I can do that in a way that pays me a living wage.
I know a fair amount of people who've done terra.do or climatebase fellowships. The feedback is mixed. If you want to learn some climate basics, start to establish a network and learn a snippet of the lay of the land, they're not bad places to start. But the fellowships themselves don't have the cache (or training) to get someone directly hired in climate.
The climate sector is hard to break into. Not impossible, but like any sector, it takes time and work and hustle and luck. Volts can absolutely arm you with enough knowledge to be dangerous but depending on where you are in your career, it may make sense to continue on your current path and apply a climate lens to your work. I often say that the non-climate professionals within companies are the most effective advocates and I sincerely believe that. You might want to check out drawdown.org/programs/drawdown-labs/job-function-action-guides and workonclimate.org
Appreciate the follow-up, Samuel! I'm starting a fellowship program with Climate Drift later this month, geared towards mid-career folks trying to transition into climate, so I'm hopeful it'll help. I also have an idea for a clean energy newsletter of my own -- taking a stab at a wide-reaching introductory angle with the goal of turning more people onto talking and caring about these things.
I'd check out Reimagine Appalachia for their job notices. The pay is fairly low in a lot of postings.