Montana Public Radio looks at the high demand for wind techs

Montana Public Radio has a new story out about the high demand for wind techs, the latest of several in-depth looks at the job.

It makes sense reporters delve into the field– it’s the country’s fastest growing job, and the high-altitude visuals and hands-on work associated with maintaining wind turbines make for compelling storylines.

Here are a few choice quotes from Montana Public Radio:

• “They tell me that they love employees from Montana because they typically come from a ranch or a farm,” Sustainable Energy Instructor Francisco Saldivar.
• “They’re willing to work in extreme conditions because we all know the weather in Montana can be quite extreme. So just having that on your resume is very helpful for prospective job seekers.  Couple that with a formal education and they’re highly sought after individuals.”

Earlier this year, NPR also spoke to a few wind techs to learn more about their jobs:

• “A wind technician is a person who basically is kind of a jack of all trades — you’re maintaining everything from power generation systems to mechanical systems, instrumentation, communication systems… really each turbine can be viewed like an airplane on a stick, I guess,” said Daniel Lutat, a wind energy instructor at Iowa Lakes Community College. “So in everything from the construction phase all the way through the operations and maintenance and the post-warranty phase, these technicians really are bumper-to-bumper maintenance guys… and I use ‘guys’ in kind of a general term.”
• “A high school grad with a good, solid foundation in algebra and some basic physics is always a plus,” Lutat said. “You’re dealing with everything from mechanical forces to electrical forces, and obviously that requires a good background in algebra, primarily because you’re using complex equations to solve those electrical issues when you troubleshoot.”

Here’s some more insight on what it’s like to work as a wind tech, straight from the horse’s mouth: