Environmental Science

Options with a degree in environmental science 

An environmental science degree equips you with the skills and knowledge for a range of jobs in areas such as conservation, sustainability, and environmental research and education.  These skills, along with other factors of career choice – what you like doing (your interests), what’s important to you (your values) and your personality type – will help you make informed career decisions. Remember that your career may be based on the skills you’ve gained over the course of your degree studies, and may not necessarily look like an Environmental career on first inspection, in terms of the knowledge you have gained.

Some of the main career options with a Environmental Science degree are:

You can find out more about these here Prospects what can I do with an environmental science degree? as well as the wide variety of jobs where your skills and knowledge are applicable. TARGETcareers also have a useful section on Environmental Careers.

To help you explore the wide range of career options open to you have a look at Prospects what can I do with my degree? and take the Prospects Career Planner Quiz.

There are many different disciplines within Environmental careers please see a list of the mains sectors and links to assist with your careers research.

Conservation and energy

Primarily concerned with  preserving and protecting the natural environment, this sector benefits from relevant voluntary experience.

To investigate the current issues in conservation and ecology, visit the following websites:

Careers in this sub-sector include:

Corporate social responsibility & sustainability

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a growing area for businesses, both large and small, with many choosing to focus on sustainability.

To find out more about the current issues and considerations in corporate sustainability, visit the following links:

  • Sustainability Exchange – download the EAUC Sustainability Careers Guide and watch the webinars
  • Trucost – an organisation that uses data to identify environmental risk and opportunity across company operations, supply chain and investment portfolios
  • SustainAbility – a think tank and advisory firm encouraging sustainability
  • Scientists for Global Responsibility – independent UK-based promoter of science, design and technology to achieve sustainability

Careers in this sub-sector include:

Environmental management and assessment

Environmental management is concerned with the interaction of impact of human societies on the environment.

Environmental managers are responsible for overseeing the environmental performance of private, public and voluntary sector organisations. This has a significant overlap with CSR, where the focus is sustainability.

To investigate further, visit the following websites:

Careers in this sub-sector include:

Green chemistry

The Royal Society of Chemistry explains: ‘green chemistry seeks to reduce the chemical-related impact on human health and the environment by the use of alternative, environmentally-friendly processes and reaction media’.

It isn’t a separate branch of chemistry, but an approach that permeates every stage of process development.

To find out more, visit these websites:

Careers in this sub-sector include:

As green chemistry is an approach rather than a branch of chemistry, job titles will not always include a direct reference to green or sustainable chemistry.

By searching for jobs on websites that focus on green issues, you may be more likely to come across dedicated roles. Alternatively, talk to potential employers directly to ask about their green policies.

Land management and agriculture

The management of land and its agricultural usage has a significant impact on our environment.

It is a rapidly changing industry with new developments such as precision land management, involving technology such as satellite positioning and farm management software.

To find out more about the future of the industry, visit these websites:

Careers in this sub-sector include:

Law and legislation

There is a significant amount of legislation involved in managing the human impact on the environment.

There is also a growing legal focus on subjects such as corporate and social responsibility (CSR), emissions relating to climate change and sources of energy, e.g. the controversy around fracking.

To investigate environmental law further, look at these websites:

Careers in this sub-sector include:

Recycling and waste management

The Energy and Utilities Skills Group described waste management as ‘one of the most exciting, quickly evolving industries in the UK.

New developments and discoveries are being made all the time to help turn waste into valuable resources such as power and raw materials’.

To find out more about current issues in waste management recycling, visit:

Careers in this sub-sector include waste management officer and  recycling officer. 

Renewable energy and energy efficiency

For more information on the renewables industry in the UK, visit the following websites:

Careers in this sub-sector include:

Water quality and flood risk management

Flood risk management has a high profile, and is the recipient of an increasing amount of funding.

To find out more about the environmental issues impacting the water industry, visit the following websites:

Careers in this sub-sector include:

Additional Useful Resources to help with your Careers Research  

Volunteering Locally 

If you are interested in gaining some voluntary experience locally you may find the following websites helpful

Internships & Work Experience Searching 

Finding a Graduate Job

Environment & Sustainability

  • Acre – comprehensive range of jobs in the energy, environment and sustainability sector, mostly in the UK and Europe
  • ConservationJobs – for conservation careers in the UK and worldwide
  • CountrysideJobs – UK-based positions in countryside management and conservation
  • ENDS job search – jobs in environmental, ecology, conservation, wind energy and sustainability, mainly in the UK
  • Environmentjob – a range of environmentally related vacancies in the UK and abroad
  • Env.Careers – advice on building an environmental career as well as global job listings
  • GreenJobs – a listing of ‘green jobs’ in the UK ranging from environmental consultants to natural resource management, including specific sites for Renewable Energy Jobs, Solar Jobs, Water Jobs and Wind Jobs
  • Guardian Jobs – Environment – a selection of environmentally related positions in the UK
  • Lantra – land-based and environmental sector opportunities in the UK
  • enviroment jobs – a wide range of ‘green jobs’ in the UK and abroad
  • IEMAJobs – a range of Environmental and Sustainability roles

General Job Searching Sites for Graduates – All Disciplines 

The following websites may be helpful to search the wider job market, where your transferable skills can be applied.

Graduate Schemes

Many leading UK employers across all industries run graduate training programmes, to discover the benefits of these schemes and how you apply the links below will help:

 

 

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