Search Engines for Environmentally Focused Careers
- Environmental Career Opportunities
- Environmental Job Sites: Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Government Careers
- The Environmental Protection Agency calls upon graduates to develop and enforce environmental regulations across the nation.
- Other agencies within the US Government that often hire graduates with an Environmental Studies degree include: The Department of the Interior, Health and Human Services, The Energy Department, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Private Industry
Environmental regulations require that private industry be in compliance with current legislation and therefore many businesses require the assistance of knowledgeable graduates who are trained in conflict resolution, problem solving, and ecological awareness.
Non-Profits
Graduates with strong communication and organizational skills may find work with many non-profit environmental groups in a variety of focus areas. A sampling of options include:
- Land Conservation: Conservation Job Board, Land Trust Alliance, The Trust for Public Land
- Soil and Water Conservation
- Wildlife Conservation
Environmental Educators
Teaching jobs are available under government auspices in public schools and library programs. Most national and state parks offer visitor education programs explaining their sites. But most park education programs also offer environmental instruction about how park land is being used and preserved.
Beyond teaching within government operated programs, graduates will find a number of career openings for those who like to teach, at private summer camps, with the Boys and Girls Club of America and the YMCA. Large conservation and preservation groups like the Sierra Club and the National Audubon Society also look for teachers with a degree in environmental studies to help them share an understanding of their work with young and old would-be conservationists around the country.
International Environmental Specialist
Working with agencies from the United Nations and other international aid groups like Oxfam and the International Red Cross, graduates can also put their understanding of managing conflicting needs and concerns to work for the good of others.
Graduates can serve in branches of international relief organizations that respond to international crises such as severe drought, floods, catastrophic storms and epidemics.