There’s a writer out there whose work might be worth following, though her topics are often way over my head. Lyn Alden is a young engineer that appears to also have a fairly intense financial bent, and produces a blog at the following link.
Found here. She also has a newsletter apparently.
She recently had an article that might appeal to students of renewable energy, but at a meta level, there might be a few broader aspects about her that would be of interest to you. Let’s contemplate Lyn related to:
- your professional energy
- a case study herself
- your personal energy
How to Invest in Renewable Energy: 4 Ways to Profit (with your professional energy)
Lyn’s writing is appealing because she has a fairly terse, professional style. She also composes long, fairly in-depth articles. Some people say blog posts should be kept short, say 400-800 words or less. Hit em with a clickbait title, throw some jazz in there, hope they click on the sponsored links. But given the transaction costs of reading anything (finding it, loading it, impact of task switching on focus, probability of retention/taking actionable steps etc.) my personal preference is to savor longer articles with more detail to contemplate, and hers provide those.
In particular her article on renewable energy investments linked above caught me. Now, she is waaaayyy more sophisticated an investor than I will ever be as a simple passive Boglehead. She clearly does a ton of research and with her intellect has developed strategies including options that work well for her and followers. Rather, my interest in her article is on the meta level, not stock tips.
In engineering classes generally we approach renewable energy from the “steel-toed boot kicking engineer” level – focusing on the technical execution, thermodynamics, logistics and perhaps a certain tactical level of development aspects around projects. If engineers generally operate at 100 meters of elevation her commentary about the financial strength and potential of various renewable energy technologies, companies and investments is at the 10,000 meter level.
Students often ask for insight about what sorts of companies they might find suitable employment opportunities with, as they would prefer to eat when they graduate. My answers are generally constrained to those that I know and respect in my industry, but for a broader vision, you could take Lyn’s article, re-title it “How to Work in Renewable Energy” and consider that if you want to find an employer, why not choose a profitable one with growth potential! Your biggest investment capital is of course your own time and effort, so why not deploy it at least as wisely as your funds. Her article can be viewed as a high-level confirmation of what you already know (renewables are the future!) and then a specific listing of some potential employers with promise.
I’ve never met or spoken to Lyn, although she probably would make a great guest speaker for a class, given her rich background. In the interview linked above there is some description of her history – grew up homeless for a while, lived in a trailer (hey, we have something in common!), degree in electrical engineering and a description of her current responsibilities that span technical-managerial-financial roles. Again, usually my narrow focus in courses is on the initial, gritty technical roles that new engineers undertake: hydraulic and stress analysis, piping and wiring design, equipment specifications, construction practices etc. In reviewing her career arc (only in her early 30s) she has already taken on what appears to be design aspects like that but also procurement, budgeting and contract management. With aptitude in financial modeling and management it would not surprise me if she could be very well positioned for higher level executive positions, were she so inclined.
So for an engineer she is a useful illustration of the types of hats one can wear in one’s career. In my experience the engineers that rise the highest and go the furthest are the ones that demonstrate solid technical competence, yes, but then are also able to expand their professional portfolios considerably to encompass personnel and financial management aspects as well. You could stay a focused techie, sure (as I am), but the ones that hit the big time are always hydras.
As she herself admits “this is a 9,000 word beast of an article.” She provides here a great twelve-concept survey of ways to boost your personal energy. As many engineers would write (technically, better than most), she peppers advice on topics such as eating right or micronutrients with illustrative figures. It appears she had suffered from health challenges in her 20s, so few are better qualified to opine on ways to overcome them than those that have battled demons themselves.
At work I grimly sigh when coworkers young or old give in to practices that deplete them of health, money and energy – for some it seems like not having major problems – yet – are a license to kill (themselves). It’s really their business, but as Lyn notes, “the combined effect of all of these tactics has been utterly life-changing for my energy, mood, health, and productivity.” She covers topics such as the ketogenic diet (that works especially well for me), nutrients, “forest baths,” sleep, clutter and other topics.
What I like about this article in the context of her others is that we ideally are all looking for a “full-spectrum” approach to sustainability: our undertakings, local and global environments, health, thought and investments. If things are clicking on all (biodiesel-fueled) cylinders, our bodies, minds and finances are as wholesome as our impacts on the earth and therefore the bodies/minds/finances of others. Skip a link in the interrelated chain and someone suffers. So her article among seas of others out there is an excellent weaving together of a number of personal energy-related strategies which might be of use to you.
Summary
Consider giving her a read, and see if you can glean anything from her perspectives on “renewable energy” for your finances, career and personal life. If you are deep into investing advice and machinations then you may want to delve quite a bit further into her other content and/or sign up for her newsletter. Talented young person.
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