I am currently working in light manufacturing and, essentially, just driving a fork lift around. I'm going to welding school during the night (approved by my job) but have also found this field. I was wondering if welding school would give a leg up or would I have to take a shot with Skyclimbers?

Essentially, would I have to go through the Skyclimber program, or would the welding school potentially give me a workaround to potentially jumping straight to a travel or II technician job?

Obviously still thinking of welding, but plan B and C are always needed and I was wondering if anyone has much crossover with other industries or trades?

Based in USA

Thanks

I’m a non-union journeyman electrician in Canada looking to get my foot in the door in the industry. I’m just wondering if anyone has taken this path and if it’s worth the transition. What do entry level wages look like? Will having my 309A red seal be considered a strong asset to hiring managers? What’s the best way to get started?

Any advice is appreciated.

Good morning everybody I am looking into possibly providing Suzlon wind turbine hoses with a 1 to 2 day turnaround time. It made with better materials than the OEM’s. I’m curious if anybody could help me identify some suzlon part numbers along with the function of what the hose does off the gearbox.

My boyfriend and I were talking "would you rather" type questions on a roadtrip and we drove past some wind turbine which weren't spinning. His question to me was whether if I was stuck on the top of a wind turbine and had to walk along one of the blades to get a key which was on the very end of the blade to get back into the wind turbine and get down - could I do it? I said that was ridiculous because eventually I would be heavy enough to cause the blade to fall downwards and I'd fall anyway, but he thinks a human's weight is so insignificant in comparison to the size of a wind turbine that it would be fine(as long as you weren't blown off or fell etc lol).

Appreciate this is an incredibly dumb debate but please, wind turbine experts, help me out!!

*EDIT* Thanks for all your incredibly insightful comments! I love seeing a community genuinely engage and entertain a stupid question like this with genuine science and engineering!

Hi everyone,

I'm a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor's in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and I'm planning to do my final-year project in the wind energy sector.

The idea I'm currently exploring is building a hybrid digital twin for wind turbine predictive maintenance, where a physics-based simulator is combined with AI/ML models to detect anomalies, estimate component health, and eventually predict failures (e.g., gearbox, bearings, blades, etc.).

So far, I've started looking into OpenFAST as the physics simulation engine and have been reading about SCADA data, condition monitoring, and predictive maintenance. My tentative architecture is to use OpenFAST for the physics-based model and build AI models on top for anomaly detection and Remaining Useful Life (RUL) estimation.

However, I'm still in the early research phase and would really appreciate guidance from people working in this domain.

Some questions I have are:

• Is OpenFAST the right place to start for this kind of project, or are there other frameworks/tools I should explore?
• What are the standard software stacks used for building industrial digital twins in the wind energy sector?
• Are there any publicly available SCADA or condition monitoring datasets that are commonly used for research?
• What papers, books, courses, or GitHub repositories would you recommend for someone entering this field?
• Are there any common pitfalls or misconceptions that beginners should be aware of when building a digital twin for predictive maintenance?

My goal is to build something that's as close to industry practices as possible while remaining feasible for an undergraduate project.

I'd really appreciate any advice, resources, or suggestions. Thanks in advance!

I've got a buddy in South Dakota where that wind event went through early Monday morning. 171 tower site near Highmore, SD. They had 35 collapsed towers due to the storm, 130 mph winds. Far as I know everybody is alright, site wide stand down but goddamn, that's 20% of the towers gone

What's up guys, starting school on July 13th in California, just want to get the inside scoop, single no kids, want to be a travel tech, I'm used to being away from home, is the school hard? Anything I should know? I'm using my GI Bill. Thanks in advance

I'm starting my new job as a wind turbine technician in a few weeks! :D I've never had a problem with heights, but on the other hand, I've never been that high up before. It's safe to say that I'm pretty nervous, but also really excited.

How did you feel when you climbed your first wind turbine?

Looking for advice on moving into the wind industry in Norway.

I’m currently in Norway ,was working on high-voltage line construction and have been doing so for around 9/10 months. including premounting, pole climbing, rigging, rope systems, helicopter load operations and general work at height on infrastructure.

My background before this was mostly mechanical. I’m a Cytech Master Mechanic with several years of experience as a head mechanic and workshop lead in bike shops across Norway and Australia.

I also previously held IRATA Level 1 rope access (now expired).

The reason I’m looking at wind is that I don’t currently hold a fagbrev (Norwegian trade qualification) as a linesman, seems like a natural progression

Want to stay in Norway if possible and would be interested in hearing from people working in onshore or offshore wind.

A few questions:
How relevant is high-voltage line construction experience when applying for turbine technician roles?

Would employers value the combination of HV infrastructure work and mechanical experience?

What qualifications would be worth getting next? (GWO, electrical courses, etc.)

Are there particular companies in Norway that are known for taking people from construction or powerline backgrounds?

Any advice from people already working in the industry would be appreciated.

Cheers

George

Does anyone know anything about sky climbers? How much pto? How long do I wait to hear back after a live interview? Pay? Day to day life? Anymore info if possible. Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m currently doing in-depth research on the wind turbine technician career path as I prepare to enter this industry.
My goal is to work in the U.S. wind energy sector, and I’m looking to connect with professionals currently working there. Whether you are a Korean technician working in the U.S. or an international technician who relocated there, I would appreciate the opportunity to ask you a few questions about your experience.
If you are currently working in the U.S. wind industry and are open to a brief conversation, please let me know or send me a DM. Your insights would be incredibly valuable for my career planning.
Thank you for your time.

I'm starting an apprenticeship soon to become a wind turbine technician. Gonna get certified for both onshore and offshore.

The apprenticeship will take place in Germany, and I will probably stay for a few years in Germany afterwards to get some work experience. However, I will at some point want to move somewhere else.

How easy is it (with an EU passport) to move to another country and have the same job? If I wanted to work in, say, Italy, would the language barrier prevent me from getting hired at all? Does anyone know what it's like outside the EU? I saw that Vestas operates wind parks in Australia and has job openings there. Is it possible to ask to get transferred?

My apologies if these questions seem juvenile. I'm new to the industry and have never worked for a big company before.

Thanks in advance for any info!

Hello,

I have an upcoming interview with Orsted that will have some technical questions. I believe this will be simple mechanical & electrical questions. Does anyone know where I can find some practice questions?

Just to note I am an electrician to trade I just want to have a practice is possible before the interview.

Currently looking to get into the wind industry. I meet a lot of the entry level requirements since they’re requiring only 3+ years of technical experience related to hydraulics and electrical. I wanted to know some of the companies out there right now offering travel positions in the United States.

Hi there guys, I've started a project to build a DIY wind turbine 500w (realistic or not I've only just started researching), in west London suburbs, and now I want to note each day's wind speed to find out the wind speeds in my area and the bearing, should I use windy or windfinder or anything else you guys recommend, also is windfinder "super forecast" better than normal forecast as they are showing polar wind informations. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,
I’m a fresh master’s graduate in Sustainable and Renewable Energy in Germany. My thesis was on wind turbine blade design, and since I started it early, I’m also finishing earlier than expected.
Do you have any recommendations on how to get into the wind energy industry in Germany? Any advice on companies, roles, networking, or skills to focus on would be appreciated.
Thanks!

hi, i have trying get my food in the door to become a wind turbine tech for about the past 3-4 months. i have very little electrical/mechanical experience but i do work hard and learn fast. im currently a paint prepper in a auto body shop and i have climbed cell towers before help a friend while his coworker was out but im just no able to make enough money where im at and a ive been curious about being a wind turbine tech for some time now.

the problem is that i cant seem to find any companies hiring near me and everytime i apply they tell me im too far away even though i specify im willing to relocate. if you are a tech or have been in the past, could you give me any advice the could lead me in the right direction?

Like a lot of these posts, I'm looking to break into the industry.

Willing to travel to anywhere within europe or australia, and willing to do any shitty job to begin with. You guys have any recommendations for a company/openings I should look for?

Wasn't sure what flare to choose - hoping this request is allowed. It seems very serious here. 😄 ​ ​

Lately I've been coveting wind turbines for their aesthetics. Some of you shared shots from up high on my last post and it made me want more. ​ ​

Can you show me your best pics from up there and, if possible, share with me what you do? Take measurements / readings? Oil the equipment? ​

How long do you stay up there?

Do you go up there every day? ​

Do you go alone or always bring a friend? ​

Is there an elevator or do you have to take stairs? ​

Are they all the same height? If not, what's the highest one you've ever been in? ​

Do you like it up there? ​ ​

Thank you wind turbine angels I look forward to hearing from you and seeing your habitats.

What's the biggest differences aside from the obvious geographical difference, how's the pay, how's the safety and expectations

I'm 27 and have a masters in sustainability. No offshore experience but what could my qualifications get me? Pay wise etc and whereabouts may work be.

Hey everyone,
I'm looking to break into the wind industry as a technician, but I have zero prior experience. I found a curriculum from a tech center (images attached) and wanted to ask some realistic questions to current techs and hiring managers here.
1. Is a formal degree necessary? Do I need a college or technical degree to be competitive, or is it possible to get hired purely with certifications and trade school training?
2. Immediate hiring with GWO BST, BTT, and ART? If I self-fund and get my GWO BST (Basic Safety), BTT (Basic Technical), and ART (Advanced Rescue Training), will that allow me to get hired immediately, even with no field experience?
3. Apprenticeship programs: Are long-term apprentice/trainee education programs a reliable and viable route to securing a job in this industry?
4. Hiring with ZERO experience: Realistically, are OEMs or third-party contractors willing to hire "green" guys who have absolutely no mechanical or electrical background?
5. Are the certs in the attached photos actually required? The certificate in the pictures shows a long list of credentials, including:
• OSHA 10 (Construction & General Industry)
• NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety)
• FLUKE (Multi-meter & Electrical Measurement Safety)
• HYTORC & SNAP-ON Torquing techniques
• Various Rescue Systems (Skylotec Milan, Tractel, Rollgliss, Miller)
Are employers actively looking for all of these specific brand certs, or is this just standard stuff covered in a trade school that I don't necessarily need to get on my own?
I'd highly appreciate any realistic insights, truth bombs, or advice on the best roadmap for a beginner. Thanks in advance!