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Construction

Solar photovoltaic installers

Typically requires High school diploma or equivalent

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
MixedLow uncertainty
top 8% of all 730 careers

Analyst take: Strong market prospects — +42.1% projected growth, low AI exposure (11/100).

62
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Wide = well-defended — few automatable tasks, built on skills few other jobs have.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Low uncertainty means the score leans mostly on measured data (growth, pay) rather than forward-looking bets, so it's comparatively solid.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 100% of careers (+42.1%).
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (11% of tasks exposed).
🐻 Bears say
  • Below-median pay ($51,860).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +25.4% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +384.7%. Reality beat the forecast — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+42.1%
Median pay
$51,860
AI exposure
11/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 34 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$64,885
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$21,700
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
3.0×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and InspectionHydroelectric Energy Technology/Technician
Selective schools offering these majors
Tuskegee University
AL · 49% admit rate
$43,454/yr
$49,641 grad pay
Maine Maritime Academy
ME · 54% admit rate
$31,046/yr
$89,964 grad pay
University of Tulsa
OK · 62% admit rate
$64,459/yr
$61,408 grad pay
Southern Adventist University
TN · 66% admit rate
$38,618/yr
$53,723 grad pay
Texas Tech University
TX · 73% admit rate
$27,443/yr
$62,454 grad pay
SUNY Buffalo State University
NY · 73% admit rate
$24,279/yr
$52,334 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

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