They got jobs in the growing solar industry – but the reality was less sunny than they expected

Solar installation jobs grew by 247% since 2011, with promises of good pay and stability - but the work is grueling, and the pay is actually low

As a child, Scott Horton dreamed of becoming a firefighter. My father worked for the post office," said Horton. My mother was a school [bus] driver." Only natural, then, that Horton would also want to enter public service.

Now, at 55, with salt-and-pepper hair, transition lenses, and a sparkly stud in his left ear, some of Horton's early longings have materialized. He spends his days climbing ladders, wearing a hardhat, and scrambling around roofs. But Horton is not a firefighter; Denver's fire department disqualifies applicants with felony convictions. Instead, he is a solar panel installer, one of the few paths available to him after a 19-year stint in prison.