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Basically I'm stuck between choosing three different fields, Environmental Management, Urban Planning and Water Resources. All three fall under the Geography Department at my current University, and the program is top-notch and fairly renown. However, I am having difficulty choosing which major I want to select.
I know that I want to be involved in the Environmental/Sustainability field as it's a booming industry and a personal passion of mine. I'm not especially concerned with making a tremendous ammounts of money, as I plan on living fairly sustainably and cheap for the most part. I'm not really interested in being in a relationship, or having children, so I know that that will cut my costs drastically.
I also don't have any interest in being an engineer or anything. I'm fine with basic arithmatic, but College Algebra nearly destoryed me. Interestingly enough, I'm taking Statistics right now and I'm passing with a B+...So while I'm not horrible at Math, I'm not looking for a job that deals with alot of Math.
The Environmental Management degree covers a fairly broad spectrum that includes Land Planning, Solid Waste Management, and Natural Resource Planning as well as Resource Conservation. The Urban Planning degree obviously deals with Environmental, and Community & Commercial Planning. The Water Resources degree, deals with River Management, Groundwater, Fluvial Processes, Water Policy, etc.
Which field is probably best suited for me (no Math)? Which field has the most growth opportunities? Which field offers the highest salaries?
I'll be minoring in either Economics, or Political Science.
Don't waste your time with Urban Planning. That market fell into the same hole that the construction industry did, and the job outlook for an urban planner is not at all looking prosperous.
Environmental Management, and Water Management will be critical in the future though, and both have very good job markets with a great outlook.
However, if I had to choose which field for someone to pick, I would go with anything water-related. Water resources are becoming more and more vital to the world, and the nation as a whole. However, the field is primarily expanding in the engineering sector, which you've said you're not interesting in pursuing. I can even tell you right now, if you don't like math, you will not like your fluvial processes class. Fluvial processes in water are mainly concerned with sediment movement and deposition, which has a lot of geology and math in it. I've seen some fluvial equations that have wracked my brain before.
I personally am an Environmental Consultant/Manager. I love my job, because I get to deal with a variety of issues that include water, solid waste planning, land planning, forestry, conservation, resource evaluation, and even fisheries. The field is growing as well, make no mistake, but probably won't offer as many job opportunities as something water-related would. I've rarely had to do any math, but I have had to use knowledge of Biology, Government, and Economics. Since you're considering minoring in Political Science or Economics, I think Environmental Management would be your thing.
Hey, hope nobody minds me bumping this...TallCloud, I'm trying to do a mid-career change to environmental management with a focus on water issues (currently picking up a quick graduate degree in environmental management with that focus), but kind of lost what to do afterwards. I know most state and local governments are instituting serious hiring freezes, and I am not sure of what private sector opportunities would be available.
I would look into water quality or aquifer management. I work indirectly in that field quite a bit and it seems fairly stable to me. Really though it depends on your location. Idaho (my state) is having major issues in hydrology and waste planning. Your state may have other issues. If you live in the northeast, my guess is that there are quite a few air quality issues abound. If you live in a southwestern state, water and river management is crucial. There are more and more people moving to the southwest which in turn leads to more water consumption which in turn leads to more water issues.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I agree that water management will be an upcoming area for strong employment growth, but in certain areas of the country. Here for example, not so much. In the southwest, definitely.
Urban planning may make a comeback eventually but is pretty dead now with no building going on.
Environmental management is your best bet, though many public agencies have laid off some of their environmental staff, there is still EPA mandated cleanup to be done in many areas, and that will last many years. You will have to know some math but more important will be statistical analysis. That involves computer work for the math part, but you have to understand the complicated concepts.
I retired twelve years ago from a career in environmental analysis with the Feds. I worked as a headquarters staff biologist and a regional staff biologist doing analyses and documentation of environmental effects for many Federal programs. We did the impact analyses and prepared environmental impact statements, environmental assessments, biological assessments, biological opinions and other documents as they related to the various Federal and state environmental laws and regulations. We also oversaw the implementation of many of our on-the-ground mandates and recommendations.
Was the career rewarding? To this I would have to say it depends mostly on your employer. In one agency I saw people who had been with that same agency 40 and 50 years. In another agency I've seen young people become so frustrated they walked away from careers where they already had 10 years invested. By the time I left, all my supervisors were lawyers and their supervisors were lawyers. It's not a working environment many people can remain healthy in.
In real estate the old saying is location, location, location. In one's life work, it is employer, employer, employer.
Urban planning may make a comeback eventually but is pretty dead now with no building going on.
I guess where I live, urban planning is doing well. So I beg to differ for my region at least. Guess it depends on what region of the country you're in.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joke Insurance
I guess where I live, urban planning is doing well. So I beg to differ for my region at least. Guess it depends on what region of the country you're in.
I can't argue with that, as I'm only really familiar with our area, but our city after tremendous growth through about 2007 had to lay off 13 people not due to budget but because they had nothing to do.
Tallchief: "I would look into water quality or aquifer management. I work indirectly in that field quite a bit and it seems fairly stable to me. Really though it depends on your location. Idaho (my state) is having major issues in hydrology and waste planning."
I'm definitely interested in aquifer management and drinking water; my coursework so far has done a fair amount of that, though mostly very general stuff as opposed to specific, usable skills. For example, re groundwater we've learned basic principles, but in terms of technical work the most complicated thing we've done is calculating groundwater movement a la Darcy's law and contaminant plumes (with the complicated variables already provided). I'd probably have to really learn some serious math to go any further in that.
My main weakness is I have zero practical experience working in this (have been trying to get into it for years). My main strengths (as I see them) are: (1) I am willing to relocate over a wide area if necessary (namely anywhere in the northeast or Florida); (2) the school I am going to has an excellent reputation for this kind of stuff; and (3) I actually am a licensed attorney with decent experience in that field, though again unfortunately nothing specific to environmental issues; I do, however, know my way around a statute.
High_Plains_Retired: "I retired twelve years ago from a career in environmental analysis with the Feds. I worked as a headquarters staff biologist and a regional staff biologist doing analyses and documentation of environmental effects for many Federal programs. We did the impact analyses and prepared environmental impact statements, environmental assessments, biological assessments, biological opinions and other documents as they related to the various Federal and state environmental laws and regulations. We also oversaw the implementation of many of our on-the-ground mandates and recommendations. . . By the time I left, all my supervisors were lawyers and their supervisors were lawyers. It's not a working environment many people can remain healthy in."
Sounds a lot like what I would like to get into. Good to hear they're into hiring lawyers (see above), and when I'm done with my degree I might (barely) qualify for some of the technical positions. I kind of want to be the guy that mediates between the science/technical staff and the policy/law guys, so that's where I've been pushing my education, but like I said my problem is breaking into the field.
High_Plains_Retired:
Sounds a lot like what I would like to get into. Good to hear they're into hiring lawyers (see above), and when I'm done with my degree I might (barely) qualify for some of the technical positions. I kind of want to be the guy that mediates between the science/technical staff and the policy/law guys, so that's where I've been pushing my education, but like I said my problem is breaking into the field.
Yes, it was tough back in the late '70s when I entered the environmental field as a biologist. Admittedly I had to go through some side doors to first make my self known but that only took a few years. With all the budget problems, I don't know what goes on nowadays in these offices but I was able to do a little world travel and a lot of national travel. That was always interesting.
My problems with office work probably relates to something Mollie Beattie once said. Beattie, as you may recall, was the first female Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1993 to 1996. She said something to the effect that "wildlife biologists care more about animals than people." And from all the wildlifers I knew during my career, she was absolutely right.
Good luck in your career pursuits and never let anyone tell you it's impossible to follow your dreams.
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