This guide contains only a partial list of occupational titles and career fields that may be of interest to students considering an environmental studies major. In addition to the skills and knowledge gained through your college course work in this major, you may also need to acquire career related work experience, additional work related skills and/or additional education. Some of the occupations require an advanced degree to enter the field.

After you have identified possible occupations of interest to you, it is important to investigate the nature of work; education and training requirements; skills and special talents needed; types of employers; future trends and employment outlook related to each of these careers.  To obtain this information, you may want to research these occupations by reading the books and literature available in the Philadelphia House Career Resource Library, by reviewing the information available on the internet, and by contacting related professional associations.

This guide also provides information about obtaining related work experience including links to possible internships. However for the best information on current, local internships contact Sally Cardenas, Director of Internships and Community-Based Learning at 562-464-4533 or email her at scardenas@whittier.edu.

Career Options

Note: (2) refers to second information link for occupational title

Typical Employers

Business and industry, chemical companies, colleges and universities, conservation agencies, consulting firms, environmental agencies, government agencies, insurance companies, libraries, military, museums, nonprofit organizations, outdoor education programs, parks, planning agencies, public and private schools, research institutes

Liberal Arts Related Occupations
(click here for more career options)

Marketable Skills Associated with Environmental Studies Major

• Analysis:  summarizing research findings, analyzing data, testing hypotheses, developing theories, clarifying problems, identifying relationships between problems/solutions, perceiving patterns and structures, evaluating data and results
• Investigation: applying concepts, utilizing formulas, designing experiments, organizing and interpreting data, gathering information, assessing risks, defining problems
• Technical skills: solving quantitative problems, sampling for surveys, using laboratory equipment, using computers for computation/simulation, maintaining precision and accuracy
• Communication:  proficient in oral and written communications with abillity to explain concepts to others; writing for technical and non-technical audiences, informing and explaining research results
• Problem solving and decision making skills

Getting Career Related Work Experience

To be competitive in today's job market and to improve your qualifications for graduate school, gaining career related work experience while you are a college student is very important.  Career related work experience can include various forms of paid and volunteer experience (i.e. internships, some work study positions, summer or part-time jobs in your career field of interest, possibly fellowships, and some volunteer positions)

Environment Related Internships

Sources of Career and Employment Information

Career Information Links on the Internet

• Environment Information Links
• Links to Professional Associations 

Employment Information Links on the Internet

• Environment Industry and Employment Links

Graduate School Resources

• General Graduate School Resource Links  
• Environment and Animal Science Programs