Construction and Extraction · Holland code REC
Solar Energy Installation Managers
Direct work crews installing residential or commercial solar photovoltaic or thermal systems.
Also called: Installation Manager, Solar Energy Installation Manager, Solar Installation Crew Foreman, Solar Installation Manager, Commercial Field Manager, Commercial Solar Superintendent, Residential Field Manager, Residential Field Supervisor.
O*NET 47-1011.03
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $79,920
- Middle half earn $63,400 to $101,460. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 53% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Plan and coordinate installations of photovoltaic (PV) solar and solar thermal systems to ensure conformance to codes.
- Supervise solar installers, technicians, and subcontractors for solar installation projects to ensure compliance with safety standards.
- Estimate materials, equipment, and personnel needed for residential or commercial solar installation projects.
- Prepare solar installation project proposals, quotes, budgets, or schedules.
- Provide technical assistance to installers, technicians, or other solar professionals in areas such as solar electric systems, solar thermal systems, electrical systems, or mechanical systems.
- Coordinate or schedule building inspections for solar installation projects.
- Perform start-up of systems for testing or customer implementation.
- Identify means to reduce costs, minimize risks, or increase efficiency of solar installation projects.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Monitoring3.8 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.6 / 5
- Speaking3.6 / 5
- Active Listening3.5 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.5 / 5
- Writing3.0 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Building and Construction4.4 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
- Administration and Management3.7 / 5
- Design3.5 / 5
- Mechanical3.5 / 5
- Transportation3.3 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic81
- Investigative27
- Artistic5
- Social12
- Enterprising64
- Conventional53
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- solar energy engineer · DE Ingenieur Solartechnik/Ingenieurin Solartechnik · FR ingénieur en énergie solaire/ingénieure en énergie solaire
- solar energy sales consultant · DE Verkaufsberater für Solarenergie/Verkaufsberaterin für Solarenergie · FR conseiller en énergie solaire/conseillère en énergie solaire
- construction general supervisor · DE Oberbauleiter/Oberbauleiterin · FR superviseur de travaux de construction/superviseuse de travaux de construction
- electrical supervisor · DE Aufsichtskraft Elektroinstallation · FR chef d’équipe électricien/chef d’équipe électricienne
- glass installation supervisor · DE Polier Glas/Polierin Glas · FR superviseur de poseurs de vitrage/superviseuse de poseurs de vitrage
- insulation supervisor · DE Polier Dämmarbeiten/Polierin Dämmarbeiten · FR superviseur de poseurs en isolation thermique/superviseuse de poseurs en isolation thermique
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Construction and building trades supervisors (5330)53,100 employed
- Production managers and directors in construction (1122)167,400 employed
- Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.31. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (47-1011).
Related careers
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