You can do a degree in an engineering or a scientific subject. Some employers might expect you to have a postgraduate qualification.

Relevant subjects include:

• energy engineering
• Earth sciences
• environmental engineering
• geophysics
• renewable or sustainable energy

Getting work experience during your studies through a summer internship or year placement scheme can give you an advantage when you start looking for work.

Your university careers service can help you find opportunities.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including maths and a science for a degree
• a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

You'll need:

• knowledge of engineering science and technology
• maths knowledge
• analytical thinking skills
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• thinking and reasoning skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
• to be flexible and open to change
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

As a renewable energy engineer, you could:

• research ways to harness renewable sources of energy
• work on increasing energy production trials to a larger scale
• do studies to see if a location can be used as a potential generation site
• help to design and build power plants, instruments and equipment
• advise companies on how to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy
• find ways to make current technology like solar panels and batteries more efficient
• collect, analyse and present data on energy production
• manage maintenance and service schedules, fix problems and co-ordinate staff

We've identified this as a green job

As a renewable energy engineer, you'll develop news ways to generate power using sustainable resources. This can have a positive impact on the environment.

Find out more about green careers

You could work in an office, in a laboratory, at a power station or on a rig.