What To Do With An Environmental Science Degree (Pacific: credit, employment)

[passivepugilist]

Hello people,
Can someone please tell me what kind of work there is out there for an environmental science major, about to graduate next year? It's not me, it's my daughter. When I ask her what she plans to do, she says "I don't know Mom, I'll figure it out." I'm sure she will, but I'm curious as to what she might find out there. She doesn't want to go into medicine, she's already been offered an interview in the environmental science department of the local public health admin. I'd like a heads up as to what she can expect. Fish hatcheries, watershed? Someone please post.

[JBVirtuoso]

The key to making majors like environmental science work is to take additional courses that will give her employable skills. For instance, if she has an environmental science degree and is proficient in using GIS software with scripting, there are plenty of jobs available for that kind of work. If she has coursework in business or finance, there are companies that look for environmental experts to have on staff (especially in the natural resources industries). There are also research jobs that involve things like collecting water samples or tagging birds to track migration. That work isn't glamorous and doesn't pay well, but it may be what she's after.

My advice is to encourage her to take additional coursework in other areas to make her more employable. I'd say computer science and financial accounting would be the most valuable. She may or may not like those courses, but since she's been presumably studying stuff she likes for the rest of her college career, taking a few uninteresting courses to gain valuable skills shouldn't be too painful.

[Hemlock140]

There are jobs in that field. She can look at the City, Port, County, and the various environmental consulting companies that work with developers. While there are experienced people out of work, some do like to hire new graduates since they will up-to-date on the latest research, and cost them less. I was once on an interview panel for an environmental graduate internship, and the person we hired eventually got a great job at an oil company in Texas.

[analogkid84]

Agree with JB above, either minor or do a dual-degree in a field that can augment the ES degree. Also, are there any internships available in the area where she can link up with folks in the field and get some firsthand info? Also, check the US Forest Service offices for employment/internship opportunities. Is she averse to moving or does she want to try to stay in the Pac NW? This will affect what is open to her as well.

[branh0913]

Start filling out applications at your nearest Wendy's, McDonalds, or Burger King

[Fiddlehead]

It is not a bad major. The key, as mentioned upthread, is to gain strong, marketable skills. There is a long apprenticeship period to the profession, with a variety of seasonal or short-term jobs. Permanent jobs often require a master's degree.

If you would consider a public sector position, there will likely be many retirements in coming years that, if the Tea Party does not dissemble, will need to be replaced. Be aware, however, that "environmental" anything is a bit hackneyed and saturated in the Pacific Northwest. We attract people from all over the country for those jobs, and so competition is keen. It might not be as bad if you are willing to relocate. However, environmental fields, especially GIS and fire, have been a fad profession for a decade or more, as public sector employment in these fields shrinks in absolute terms. So, do your market research in the area of the world you want to live.

A final note. If you go this route, take some business classes too. Environmental professionals often assume they will get stable public sector jobs, but that is by no means guaranteed anymore. Being able to develop your own company and carve our a unique niche and business plan are unusual skills, and might be highly sought after in coming years.

Best of luck!

[509]

Originally Posted by passivepugilist

Hello people,
Can someone please tell me what kind of work there is out there for an environmental science major, about to graduate next year? It's not me, it's my daughter. When I ask her what she plans to do, she says "I don't know Mom, I'll figure it out." I'm sure she will, but I'm curious as to what she might find out there. She doesn't want to go into medicine, she's already been offered an interview in the environmental science department of the local public health admin. I'd like a heads up as to what she can expect. Fish hatcheries, watershed? Someone please post.

The problem with a Environmental Science major is NOBODY really knows what it means. BTW there are a lot more fun jobs than working for a local public health administration!!

IF your daughter has lots of math,biology, chemistry, statistics, and other hard science classes in the major she should be ok. Then the problem becomes convincing an employer that your skill set is relevant to their needs.

The suggestion to take some GIS classes is a good one. A GIS background in the natural sciences is now a given just like knowing to write. It is a good place for an entry position.

IF she has had the required science classes it probably would be a fairly simple matter for her to qualify as a Forester, Fish Biologist, Wildlife Biologist, etc. She is probably headed for a government job.

The Federal Job Qualification standards are NOT the same as a degree. For example, she could easily qualify as a Forester by taking as few as 24 credits AND she might already have some of the required credits. So I would review those. They were in the GS 400 series of jobs. Which are jobs related to the Biological Sciences.

I have a Forestry degree with a background in forest planning and economics. I worked as a Economist for the Federal Government because I had enough credits in economic classes to qualify as an Economist. Thankfully, it was a Forest Economist job rather than a straight classical economist!!! So be sure to check the civil service standards for various jobs.

Here are the jobs I held and qualified for with my Forestry degree with the Federal Government: Forester, Environmental Specialist (twice), Economist, and Operations Research Specialist. When I worked for a consulting firm my business card merely had my name on it. They changed my title on every bid that was submitted requiring my services.

I was hired as an Environmental Specialist by both the National Park Service and the Forest Service. The Park Service did it because of my recreation planning skills and they could not bear the thought of hiring a Forester!! The Forest Service did it because of my planning skills.

There are plenty of jobs right now in the natural resource fields simply because so many people are retiring and there are so few graduates in natural resources.

So check her classes and make sure there are some hard science courses. She will be fine if that's the case. Oh, summer jobs. Make sure she applies for some summer jobs. That will give her exposure to potential employers, but more important she can learn how to "game" the civil service system.

Hope this helps.

[WriterDude]

Originally Posted by passivepugilist

Hello people,
Can someone please tell me what kind of work there is out there for an environmental science major, about to graduate next year? It's not me, it's my daughter. When I ask her what she plans to do, she says "I don't know Mom, I'll figure it out." I'm sure she will, but I'm curious as to what she might find out there. She doesn't want to go into medicine, she's already been offered an interview in the environmental science department of the local public health admin. I'd like a heads up as to what she can expect. Fish hatcheries, watershed? Someone please post.

Terrific that she is getting ready to graduate! That's a nice achievement.

I'd say she needs to follow the modern job search path:

1. While she is still in school, find an internship or volunteer position in the field. That will help her drill down to the more specific things she finds interesting.

2. Also, she should reach out to as many of the students in her degree as she can. Not just students at her school - she should be able to reach out to anyone she has listed in any bibliography for any paper in her specialty.

3. She should reach out to people who have graduated from her program over the past 3-4 years, and ask how they're doing in the field.

4. She should (JBVirtuoso suggested this) strongly consider taking additional coursework to build specific skills.

5. She should build a social presence on LinkedIn (and Google+), rather than Facebook or Twitter, because those allow her to brand more effectively in a work frame, rather than her school frame. It is very challenging (surprisingly difficult) to move from the "smart, good student" brand to the "good worker, valuable co-worker, great team player" brand that's better for a workplace.

Good luck!!