Jobs/Careers
There are things you can do about your career before you graduate. The decisions and actions you take early on will have a significant impact on the course of your career life. Now is the time to take stock of your options and make some commitments. The following web resources will help you think through some of the possibilities:
- What do Environmental Scientists and Conservationists do
- Online book for Conservation and Environmental Science Careers
- Conservation and Environmental Science Career Links
What do Environmental Scientists and Conservationists do?
Begin thinking about which career role you would like to have upon graduation and 5 years. The field of Conservation and Environmental Science typically prepares students for a variety of natural resource management career roles, such as (see each described below) academic researcher, non-profit organization staff, consultant for an environmental firm, natural resource agency specialist, or environmental educator (i.e. naturalist or school teacher).
Academia
In academia, you may pursue several career roles, from laboratory technician to research scientist. As a laboratory technician, you will need either a B.S. or M.S. If you choose to be a research scientist or principle investigator, you are likely to need a Ph.D. Pay varies, depending on your degree. In some cases, you may be responsible for teaching in addition to your research, and you could be expected to find funding for your projects.
Non-profit Organization
Non-profit organizations have the freedom to work on projects they believe in, as long as they can find funding for those projects. Non-profits serve the public interest and are tax-exempt; the public makes donations to these organizations and expect to deduct them from their federal taxes. People who work for nonprofit organizations expect to make less money but tend to have a higher level of career satisfaction. Environmental education is a growing field within the non-profit arena.
Environmental Consulting
In the private sector, environmental consulting firms hire biologists, ecologists, and environmental scientists to complete biotic assessments and inventories, include ecosystem concerns in land planning at multiple scales, and assess the impact of proposed developments on natural ecosystems. The consulting arena is a fast-paced environment, where staff may juggle several projects simultaneously. Pay is typically higher in consulting firms than in the academic or agency arenas, but work schedules may be very demanding.
Environmental Education
The environmental education career path includes those working as naturalists, recreation program leaders, journalists, interpreters, community outreach specialists, environmental communications specialists at private firms and industries, tour guides, and classroom teachers. Examples of employing organizations are nature centers or museums; local, state or federal parks and monuments; camps; outdoor adventure centers; public utility corporations; environmental advocacy groups such as the Audubon Society, and schools.
Government state, local, or federal agency
The public sector is a dominant employer, from well-known agencies such as the National Park Service to the smallest local land conservation or water district. State, local, and federal environmental and conservation agencies are also prime movers in the development of new policy directions for environmental problem solving. Well-known federal government agencies include the following: National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; Environmental Protection Agency, and the USDA Forest Service. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is the state environmental agency. Local agencies include the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, and offices within city government.
Online Book for Environmental Careers
Deciding which Environmental Career attracts you? The Environmental Career's Organization (ECO) book The Complete Guide to Environmental Careers in the 21st Century concisely describes a wide variety of conservation and environmental science careers. You can read the entire book, chapter by chapter, online at www.eco.org. To view the book, navigate to "Career Center", then "Careers in Brief", then click on the title of the book. Alternatively, CES majors, interested students, and alumni can look through the printed version at the CES Program Coordinator's office, Lapham Hall, Room 393 (South Wing).
Conservation and Environmental Science Career Links
Students investigating environmental and conservation job careers often begin their job search online. Some students become discouraged because of the overwhelming number of environmental job seeking websites available to them. Following is an abbreviated list of sites previous students have found useful. The CES Program Coordinator maintains an expanded list of career internet links; please request this expanded list by email at fredlund@uwm.edu or in person at Lapham Hall, Room 393 (South Wing).
- General Environmental Job Posting Websites
- UWM Campus Career Resources
- Environmental and Natural Resources Career Information
- Wisconsin Job Posting Sites (not specific to CES)
- Federal Government
General Environmental Job Posting Websites
- Listserv of the Ecological Society of America. If you want to keep a pulse of ecological jobs, go to https://listserv.umd.edu/archives/ecolog-l.html and read the archives or subscribe.
- Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) strives to develop leaders, promote careers, and inspire individual action through internships, career advice, career products, research and consulting. www.eco.org/
- Environmental Careers Opportunities provides environmental job listings through free online searches or through a paid subscription. The paid subscription provides job seekers with biweekly issues at a password protected site. www.ecojobs.com/
- The National Council for Science and the Environment works to improve the scientific basis for environmental decision-making. NCSE offers internet, policy and program internships during the summer and throughout the academic year. Find these internships, as well as information for the National Library for the Environment (NLE) job listings and resume postings at www.ncseonline.org/Jobs/.
- The Society of Conservation Biology (SCB) maintains an online database of job postings, education resources, conservation biology tips, bulletin board and contact system at http://conbio.net/scb/Services/. These services align with the SCB's mission, which is represented at http://conbio.net/SCB/Information/Mission/.
- EcoEmploy.com, www.ecoemploy.com/, formerly "E Jobs," links to government, corporate, and nonprofit employers in the environmental sector by state and province. Besides general job postings, one can search alphabetical lists of environmental companies, laboratories, law firms, non-profits, and state jobs.
- The Environmental Career Center maintains a "Job Seeker Corner" at www.environmental-jobs.com/ (also found at www.environmentalcareer.com). The job search categorizes jobs according to entry level, mid level or senior level.
- Cyber-Sierra is a free job seeking resource that posts employment opportunities in natural resource, general science, watershed, ecology, and environmental disciplines. From the natural resources jobs link, http://www.cyber-sierra.com/nrjobs/index.html, navigate to the other job categories. Each link provides a listing of other useful job-seeking websites specific to the respective discipline.
UWM Campus Career Resources
- The UWM Career Development Center's online resources can help you research career options within your major, match careers according to your interests, values, skills, and personality, locate internships, part-time, full-time, or volunteer work, and develop your skills in resume development, interviewing, and salary negotiation. These online resources are found at www.uwm.edu/Dept/CDC/index.html. Students and alumni may also visit the Career Development Center in Mellencamp 128; call 414-229-4486 for information. To research careers or majors, go directly to www.uwm.edu/Dept/CDC/research_read.html.
- The UWM employment page is located at www.jobs.uwm.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1235150626187www.uwm.edu/Dept/HR/empopportun/empopp.html. The "Student Positions" link navigates the reader to the UWM Career Development Center's advertised job postings page, https://www.jobs.uwm.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1234822624745, which includes links for environmental jobs as well.
- The UWM College of Engineering and Applied Science career advising page, located at www.uwm.edu/CEAS/CareerServices/, has many useful career resources targeted for the science fields, from resume and cover letter writing to excelling in "your first year on the job."
Environmental and Natural Resources Career Information
Several other universities maintain web sites with environmental and natural resources career information and job opportunities. Some of these sites provide useful job descriptions in the environmental science and conservation fields.
- University of Wisconsin Madison, Institute for Environmental Studies, Environmental Studies Certificate at UW-Madison.
- Texas A&M University
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Wisconsin Job Posting Sites (not specific to CES)
Wisconsin's Employment Wizard (WEW) pulls from local Southeastern Wisconsin newspapers as well as national papers. The link is operated through "OnWisconsin.com," www.onwisconsin.com/jobs/. Information about WEW is found at www.wi-employmentwizard.com/index.html.
Wisconsin's Job Bank!, http://www.ajb.org/wi/, is a service offered through the Wisconsin Job Center, where job seekers can find openings posted daily. The Wisconsin Job Center has an additional website, found at http://wisconsinjobcenter.org/wjc/, that enables the job seeker to search for jobs within a given Wisconsin county, although these searches include broad categories unrelated to environmental science.
To find a job in Wisconsin's state Government, perform a search at http://wisc.jobs/public/index.asp. If you are looking for a position within a specific bureau or department, be sure to also search that department. For example, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) maintains listings of job openings at www.dnr.state.wi.us/employment/. Add other State, regional, local Orgs (SEWRPC, MMSD, etc.)
Federal Government
- US Jobs office of personnel management's site provides world-wide openings posted daily.
- United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) employment-recruitment and student internship pages. Regional Offices may post additional job openings on the respective regional office home page.
- National Park Service (NPS)
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
- Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Geological Survey
- USDA Forest Service
- Department of Energy
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- NOAA Vessel Employment
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Army Corps of Engineers (Environmental Division)
