As the world moves far from fossil fuels, we talked to local folks who have actually made the jump in recent years from operating in oil and gas to working for clean energy business in Southern California. This is one story because four-part series.

Read the intro here: From fossil fuels to careers in tidy energy: Profiles of residents who've made the switch

Check out a second worker here: White collar refinery employee trades career in oil for biofuel

Read about a third worker here: Permit professional's profession switch from oil to tidy energy pleases 'hippy' parents

When your passion is energy, Nathan Lee said the rule has actually long been that "all roads cause Houston." That's how Lee ended up costs almost seven years at one of the biggest oil companies on the planet prior to landing in 2021 at a Pasadena-based solar energy startup.

As an engineering student at University of Colorado Boulder, Lee said there was a strong focus on using your degree to make a distinction. So when he got a job offer from ExxonMobil right after graduation, in 2014, he said he leapt at the chance to be someplace with significant capital and skill that he considered as vital to delivering economical energy.

Lee, 31, stated he learned a load throughout his time at ExxonMobil. Sure, he understood the outdoors understanding of oil and gas as a "unclean industry." From the within, he said, he saw passionate people doing their jobs and working together to resolve problems.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, though, Lee said it prompted him to think of how the world was altering. While he was working on a powerful refinery unit in the Gulf Coast, it was built during World War II. And he aspired to begin using all he 'd learned to make more of a distinction while working with newer technologies that could make the world a better location for his two kids.

Lee said he acknowledges that standard nonrenewable fuel source usage when assisted raise living requirements for a great deal of individuals, "today we comprehend that it's really, very essential to stop emitting CO2 into the atmosphere."

" I want to become part of the new options."

At the time he didn't have any real plan beyond knowing he desired to work in sustainable energy. Today, he lives in the San Fernando Valley and works as senior systems engineer.

When he took the gig, Lee stated, he understood next to nothing about concentrated solar. He studied some books and slide decks, and asked lots of concerns of present workers, who he stated were eager to have more individuals on their group. And Lee said his abilities transferred well, with daily work that "feels a lot the very same" as what he did in the past.

One big change is the rate, which Lee called "refreshing." He said they can create ideas, launch experiments and release new innovations in rapid timeframes that just would not be possible at larger companies.

" As an engineer, what's more exciting than getting to work more issues?"

Seeing the flood of federal and state cash now being directed to such innovations is "vindicating," he said. And he uses three keywords of recommendations for to others who've inquired about jumping from oil and gas to renewable resource:

" Take a leap."