Wind energy technicians spend most of their time up in the clouds.

Suspended 400 feet off the ground can be a risky job, so why are so many American's going to school to become wind technicians?  Cloud County Community College student, Alan Wiesen, got laid off from his welding job and was ready for a career change. He's chosen a job in high-demand, with good pay starting at around $20 an hour.

Lucas Chavey, wind energy instructor, said "we really enjoy the fact that we get people from high school graduates all the way up to middle aged folks who are looking to change careers. They already have all the technical skills, and they're looking to get re-educated to enter a new emerging workforce."

Much of that workforce is enrolled at Cloud County, where you can make a career in clean, renewable energy.  Students at Cloud County are enrolled in either a one year certificate program or a two year associates degree program and they are trained on how to maneuver around the office, commissioning new turbines and maintaining old ones. They, also, learn about a tower rescue, in case something were to happen 27 stories up. Chavey adds "at a basic core level, a person really needs to know how to climb, and how to climb safely."

Life-saving education for a workforce that's made the US the world's largest harvester of wind energy.