I Can’t Be the Only Former Solar Installer Who Feels This Way, Right?

I’ll be honest. A lot of times, I miss working in the field.

Working in the field made me feel connected to the natural rhythms of the day in a way that office work could not. Each day, we would start with the rising sun, adjust our schedule to beat the summer heat, and shift later during winter months to catch enough warmth to melt the morning frost. Every day would bring its own challenges and rewards; some physical, some technical.  Regardless, all of them were real and immediate.

By the end of each workday, I would be physically spent, but I loved the fact that I could look up and see exactly what my team and I had accomplished. Nothing could beat the feeling of commissioning a new system or when we heard from homeowners who saw their first electric bill showing their solar panels at work. 

These hands-on, day-to-day experiences were both the most challenging and most rewarding part of my 10 years in the solar industry.

Today, my work takes a different form. Instead of installing modules and wiring up inverters, I help companies and learners get the training they need to develop, sell, design, build, and maintain solar systems. While I’m no longer on roofs or in fields daily, I’m still very much a part of building the solar industry – just from a different vantage point.

The shift from fieldwork to remote work has been transformative for me personally, creating space to pursue my dream of operating a small farm while staying connected to, and working in, the solar industry I love. 

The downside of being removed from regular onsite solar work is that many times, as I’ve been developing, writing, editing, and teaching course curriculum for training programs, I can hear a little voice whisper: 

“What gives you the right to talk about any of this?”

Talking to fellow colleagues who’ve also shifted into more office-based work, I’m not alone in this. There’s a strange form of imposter syndrome that creeps in for some of us who’ve moved from hands-on field positions to more office work. One starts questioning whether one’s memories of working onsite are somehow rose-tinted. 

“Did I really know what I was doing back then, or am I remembering it wrong?”

Just a few weeks ago, these doubts were put to the test when I helped lead roof crews at my favorite event in the solar industry – the GRID Alternatives Colorado Women’s Build – after years away from solar construction work. As I stepped onto that roof, it felt like muscle memory kicked in and that no time had passed. The familiar feel of working with the team. That same process using a string line, measuring tape, and a planset to lay out the array. The instinctive safety checks. It was all still there.

Leading roof crews again during the build wasn’t just about installing arrays; it was about remembering a part of myself I feared I’d lost. Each completed row felt like a reminder: these skills aren’t gone just because I don’t use them everyday. They’re still a part of who I am and what I can do. To me, it’s like riding a bike – once learned, it can’t be forgotten.

This experience taught me something valuable about career transitions. Moving from the field to remote work doesn’t mean we lose our practical knowledge – it means we’re building new layers of expertise on top of our foundation. My hands-on experience informs every piece of curriculum I write, every marketing pitch I develop. I understand the real-world challenges our students will face because I have faced them myself.

To others navigating similar transitions away from the field, I urge you to not let self-doubt convince you that you’ve lost touch with your foundational skills. Your field experience is invaluable, even if you’re not using it every day. Sometimes all it takes is one day back on a roof, or in whatever environment that used to be your jobsite, to remember that those skills are still very much a part of who you are.

Ultimately, I want to acknowledge the incredible work being done every day by the skilled tradespeople on the front lines of our clean energy transition. Without their expertise, commitment, and hard work in all conditions – from shoe-melting rooftops to frozen solid fields – solar installations would remain just designs on paper. These professionals are quite literally building our clean energy future with their own hands. For that, they will forever have my admiration and respect.

At the same time, those of us who have moved from the field into other roles continue to serve the industry in valuable ways. We bring our hard-earned field experience to training programs, system design, long-term maintenance, and caring customer relationships. Our hands-on background helps us bridge crucial gaps between the technical realities of installation and the broader needs of the growing solar industry.

The truth is, the clean energy transition needs both skilled professionals who transform blueprints into reality on the ground and those who can translate field experience into other essential industry roles. Together, we’re all part of the same mission: Building a more sustainable, renewable, and resilient future.

About the GRID Alternatives Colorado Women’s Build (WE Build)

Before the pandemic, the Women’s Build was an annual service event where around 100 women (from Colorado and beyond) would convene to build a solar project that benefits a local nonprofit or income-qualified households. Afterwards, GRID staff would organize additional professional development opportunities and even camping in the past. The energy is magnetic and I’ve made many lasting connections to staff and attendees alike. There really isn’t another event like it. I highly recommend attending if the opportunity arises!