As a young man, Tim Harris of North Carolina served in U.S. Coast Guard. He enjoyed working outdoors and traveling from place to place.
“I like to be mobile. I like to be able to be deployed,” he says. “I have been conditioned to be mobile and to move and to be a part of the outdoors.”
So after his military service ended, Harris started a civilian career that allowed him to travel across the country.
He’s a safety professional certified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and much of his work is on solar farm construction sites.
He provides safety oversight. And he teaches workers how to protect themselves from falls, how to safely handle electrical equipment, and how to avoid accidents while excavating and trenching.
Harris founded a company called HyghViz Safety Professionals with another veteran. And he encourages other vets to explore careers in solar when their military service ends.
He says the renewable energy industry can be a good fit for former military personnel, many of whom are eager for a mission-driven career.
“Those of us who have served in military, we have always sought a higher calling greater than ourselves, and renewable energy work fits into that mode,” he says.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media