Solar / Wind Technician
Skilled Trades
Install and maintain the equipment that generates clean power.
Why it matters here: Maryland clean-energy targets are creating new installs every year.
Labor Market — DMV Region
Sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS releases (DMV metro and nationwide) plus MD, VA, and D.C. workforce agencies.
Local cost of living is why DMV pay often differs from the national median.
- DMV & state figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS wage & employment estimates and Employment Projections, with OEWS area pay relatives for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metro, Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia · View source
- Occupation profiles & skills: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor) · onetonline.org
All salary figures are published estimates for groups of workers, not offers or guarantees for any individual role.
Education & Career Pathways
Multiple ways to get here — pick the one that fits your life.
Career Progression
How you can grow — with expected salary at each step.
- Entry-level Solar / Wind TechnicianLearning the role, supervised work, building core skills.$46,870
- Solar / Wind Technician (experienced)Independent work, mentoring newer team members.$56,530
- Senior / Lead Solar / Wind TechnicianOwning projects, specialization, higher responsibility.$68,670
- Manager or specialist trackSupervising a team or moving into a high-demand specialty.$82,404
Skills Required
What you'll actually do — and how you'll be judged.
Rooftops and turbine towers, outdoor work, travel between sites
Where you work
Residential and commercial rooftops, ground-mount solar fields, or the nacelle at the top of a wind turbine.
Hours and schedule
Daylight-driven weekday work; wind techs may travel and stay near remote sites.
Pace and pressure
Installation runs on a project schedule; maintenance work is call-based.
Who you work with
Small crews of two to five, heavily dependent on each other for fall safety.
Physical demands
Climbing, working at height, lifting panels, sun and heat exposure; wind techs climb towers daily.
What people wear
Harness and fall protection, hard hat, gloves, arc-rated clothing on electrical work.
Remote reality
None; monitoring roles exist off site.
Workplace culture: what's normal here
- Fall-protection checks are done out loud before anyone leaves the ground.
- Electrical safety training is continuous as system voltages rise.
- The field skews young and growing, so new techs get responsibility quickly.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Work Environment, with regional detail for the DMV.
Official data behind this career
Federal statistics for DMV Region, translated into plain language.
Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metro area
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP03, DP02, DP05)
- The DMV functions as one labor market: workers routinely cross state lines to get to work.
- The largest employment destinations are D.C., Fairfax County and Montgomery County.
Top places these workers go to work
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — BEA regional GDP and personal income, most recent published year
Private-sector payroll data from ADP. It is a supplemental near-real-time indicator and does not replace BLS government employment statistics.
Source: ADP National Employment Report — Most recent monthly ADP National Employment Report
- 1U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OOH, OEWS, Employment Projections, CES) — Primary source for occupation wages, outlook, projected openings, education and training.
- 2U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey — Primary source for income, educational attainment, labor force and demographic context by place.
- 3Census LEHD (LODES / OnTheMap) — Primary source for where workers live versus where they work, and local workforce flows.
- 4U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Primary source for regional GDP, industry contribution, compensation and personal income.
- 5ADP National Employment Report — Supplemental near-real-time private-sector employment and pay indicator. Not a replacement for BLS.
Figures describe groups of workers, not any one person. Where an official figure is not published for a category, this page says “Data unavailable for this category.” rather than estimating.
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