Environmental Science

Studying environmental science equips you with some very specific skills according to your particular course or specialism but also encourages the development of a broader set of transferable skills. These specific and the generic skills prepare you for a variety of jobs both highly related and totally unrelated to environmental science

Over the course of your degree you develop a wide mix of subject-specific and technical skills, you should consider these skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

Working as a Systems Co-ordinator (Environmental)

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Prospects

Environmental science graduates go into a range of jobs ranging from retail and catering to professional, managerial and technical roles. Of the questioned 2009 graduates, over 70% of these graduates go into full-time or part-time employment within six months of graduating.

Statistics collected from students graduating in 2009 show that just over 10% were working as managers in the private and public sectors, 8% were in professional and technical occupations, another 8% were in business and finance roles while 11% were in clerical and secretarial occupations and 2% in scientific research and analysis.

Figures collected by some of the universities offering environmental science courses showed that the directly relevant occupations taken up by their students included environmental adviser, scientific officer, laboratory analyst, and research editor.

Where are the jobs?

Typical employers for environmental science graduates include local authorities, the Environment Agency (EA) and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), environmental monitoring organisations, environmental consultancies, and charitable trusts such as Natural England and The Wildlife Trusts. There are many vacancy sites for environmental volunteering jobs but the following also have paid graduate jobs across a range of related areas:

• Environment and agriculture;
• Government and pubic administration;
• Energy and utilities.

Jobs directly related to your degree

• Countryside manager
• Environmental consultant
• Environmental education officer
• Environmental manager
• Nature conservation officer
• Recycling officer
• Waste management officer
• Water quality scientist

Jobs where your degree would be useful

• Environmental health practitioner
• Landscape architect
• Local government administrator
• Transport planner
• Town planner
• Toxicologist

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

You can find more about the skills you develop during your course, the jobs listed above, plus case studies and where to find these jobs at Prospects.

Included with the permission of AGCAS. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk