Looking to find a solarpunk future

[u/Fun_Constant_232]

Hey guys I’m about to start college and looking to pick a broad major in something that will promote a eco socialist/solarpunk future. I could see me being like a di Vinci as I’m interested in conservation, eco architecture, and renewable energy systems. Anyway I could combine the three or pick a broad major that specializes with a master?

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[u/Extreme_Mark_3354]

I would pick something tangible like engineering, business, marketing, agriculture, or hydrology and then focus your career on applying your education in a solar punk direction. Don’t make a generic “environmental studies” major. The colleges keep marketing those, but I don’t understand how they are better for students.

[u/Uncivilized_n_happy → u/Extreme_Mark_3354]

I got an environmental studies major and I agree. Im not making enough money to pursue anything

[u/golden_avocado_]

Solarpunk can relate to so many fields so I would say it depends on your interests and aptitudes as well. You could study anything from environmental science to politics to communications to engineering to agriculture, and so many other subject. I would also consider how you want to apply the degree. Do you want to educate others? Solve real world technical problems? Apply policy or economics to move us in the right directions? These are things I wish I had considered when I was choosing my major.

[u/No_Cow5153]

I went to one of those small liberal arts colleges that considered itself very academically rigorous (Allegheny College) and they let you design your own major. Which certainly exists at other colleges! So I think you could combine like, environmental science with poli sci or sociology and biology? Engineering involved somehow? A lot of schools will let you figure it out!

[u/ZauhVal]

Just pick something that will give you income, as I said to someone else before about this, a lot of solar punk work is actually integrating / ideating systems in and around on the ground, so most of that learning will be ongoing, and can't be taught at Uni. You could study engineering like I am, or perhaps you might study law, I don't know maybe something else completely, but at the end of the day, I think the beautiful thing about solarpunk is it needs a lot of different knowledge, systems, ethics, physics etc etc etc. All the best <3

[u/Quamatoc]

Renewable energy systems: mechanical, electrical or envirnomental engineering come to mind

[u/Conscious-Steak378]

For me, it's more attitude than major. You will probably change your major at least once. You will probably end up doing everything BUT what you major was. Take your passion and apply it to everything you do!

[u/Varro-Reborn]

Be a barber and do Solarpunk engineering applications on the side.

[u/MindsOn]

Or you could look into regenerative whole systems design programmes.

[u/JaimieMantzel]

I would skip college. You can learn much more efficiently on your own. There's so much a person can do in 4 years that's more beneficial than any school I've seen.

[u/MycologyRulesAll]

1. Some schools let you design your own curricula/degree, worth considering
   
2. Unless you have unlimited funds, you should probably look at a state school near you. You have US vibes, I'm assuming you are American.
   
3. If you do have the funds, California just converted their Humboldt campus to a polytechnic and have an undergrad degree about Environmental Engineering which sounds very interesting, and they have a full boat of minors and certificates that would allow you to pick up some side quests while you are there.

Hope that helps. Feel free to respond with the state you're in, people can make better suggestions if they know that.

[u/JDYorkWriting]

FWIW, I'd recommend looking here for sustainable solutions and find one or several that interest you: https://drawdown.org/explorer

If there's something that speaks to you, maybe figure out what fields help create it and pick a major based on that. Though keep in mind, things keep changing so the solutions and jobs that exist when you graduate may be different than what's on the website now.

[u/Outside_The_Playtrix]

By the time you finish college all that will be done by AI. Drop out and become an ultra-punk/acid communist

[u/ThinkActRegenerate]

In addition to exploring course choices, you might also find it useful to do some "back casting". If you were planning to travel, you'd start with the destinations that interested you and the activities you wanted to do there. Then work out the process of getting to those destinations.

You could pick a couple of today's practical, evidence-based solutions that most interest you - say from the Project Regeneration Action Nexus regeneration.org/nexus and have those "destinations" in mind as you explore training options.

Exploring the design and innovation approaches driving ongoing solutions - such as Circular Economy ellenmacarthurfoundation.org and Biomimicry biomimicry.net and Green Chemistry beyondbenign.org could also add some insight and ideas.

A final consideration is that - whatever your chosen area of action - you're going to need to organise people into action (even when you're not "in charge").

So studying today's practical approaches to human systems change could be a useful sub-major - whether through Systems Thinking, Diffusion of Innovation, Psychology of Persuasion or Neuroeconomics.

All the best - there's a world of great solution opportunities out there.

[u/KTinNYC]

Engineering of almost any kind. Practical and very applicable to making solar punk work. And should you decide to do something later like medicine, mechanical engineering is quite transferable.