Careers

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Student Hubs has gathered some useful information about getting into a green career. For more advice about wider ethical careers, click here.

Environment

In the current financial climate, graduate opportunities are decreasing in many sectors. The environmental sector is growing however, and there is a large range of options for graduates who wish to work in conservation, ecology, biodiversity, or sustainability.

There are an increasing number of "green collar" jobs; that is, well paid positions in energy efficiency; and the number is predicted to rise to 80,000 by 2030.

Jobs are available both within organisations concerned with protecting the environment and as an environmental specialist within other sectors: engineering, business, law, finance, retail.

Useful links are available from the University of Sussex Career Development and Employment Centre.

Careers

There are many areas open to graduates interested in a career which has a positive environmental impact. Here are some ideas.

  • Consultancy and Corporate Social Responsibility - click here for more information.
  • Ecotourism - the industry is booming and there are a range of careers available both at home and overseas. If you are intereste, download this article, in which three people talk about what it's like to work for Blue Ventures, a social enterprise which organises marine expeditions for volunteers.
  • Environmental Engineering - click here for more information.
  • Environmental Law - click here for more information.
  • IT - There are many jobs in IT with a positive environmental impact, including developing software for smart houses, remote control instrumentation to monitor the impact of nuclear power generation and using GIS. The University of Manchester Careers Service has more information.
  • Politics - The UK now has green MEPs in the European Parliament, and in the next general election the Green Party will elect Britain's first ever green MPs. Click here to download an article written by a former intern of Caroline Lucas, a green MEP, from ethicalcareers.org.
  • Renewable Energy - download your free guide to careers in renewable energy here. It contains advice and information about working in renewables, profiles of people who already work in the sector, as well as links to training courses and institutions who employ engineers.
  • Research - click here for information about research into climate change, renewable energy, clean technologies...
  • Sustainable Architecture - click here for more information.

Read on for an interesting Guardian article about breaking into the environmental sector.

External listings

Check out the following links to sites which have listings of green jobs.

Environmental organisations

We've pulled together some suggestions for where you might like to start looking for career opportunities.

  • The Climate Group - an international non-profit organisation that works with both businesses and governments to deliver initiatives which will tackle climate change quickly.
  • Climate Bridge - an international company which is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon wholesaling. Teams are located in Shanghai, India, and Europe.
  • Energy Savings Trust
  • Friends of the Earth
  • Greenpeace
  • WWF
  • Joint Nature Conservation Committee(JNCC) is the UK government’s wildlife adviser. Undertakes conservation work for English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales. It provides advice, establishes monitoring standards and commissions and supports research.
  • Environmental Agency - a public sector body for the protection of the environment in England and Wales.
 
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