Employment Spot

Environmental Jobs - Green Careers

Fieldwork takes on a whole new perspective when your office site could be a wetland, a landfill or the Pacific Ocean. Imagine working in a national park and instead of passing a co-worker on his way to the water cooler, you pass a black bear on his way to a breakfast of berries. "I think the environmental field is growing — not the federal sector, but the private," said Ron Schiller, a pesticide program specialist for the Environmental Protection Agency. "I believe with the increased emphasis on environmental protection in developing countries, there are greater opportunities here for environmental work."

If you are looking for international work, an environmental career could be your passport. "Since our country is way ahead of others in having experience with protecting the environment," said Schiller, "There should be more overseas opportunities as developing countries realize they need to clean up their environmental act."

One thing to keep in mind as you begin your search is the experiences you can market or are looking to gain. "List all the environmental work you have done (and) emphasize it in a resume," Schiller said.

Environmental Career Center may be the most comprehensive of the environmental employment sites on the Internet. It boasts a variety of corporate, state and federal job listings in environmental fields, including biology, ecology and environmental engineering. The site also posts a calendar with listings of conferences in the environmental field, including teleconferences discussing career opportunities.

Geology.com encompasses many aspects of the earth sciences with links to the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA’s Office of Space Science and the Hawaii Volcano Observatory. Visitors can get in touch with universities offering strong earth science programs. Geology.com has links to an extensive map library and its jobs page includes information for mining professionals and exploration geophysicists.

The Marine Conservation Biology Institute provides a listing of job and research opportunities for marine biologists. Check out the emerging issues section to read "fish briefs" and the latest news in the field.

If you are more interested in environmental protection than lab work, check out openings with environmental activist organizations. Arguably the best-known of these groups, Greenpeace posts international job openings. The Sierra Club lists a variety of conservation positions available nationwide. Check out the World Wildlife Fund for administrative, conservation or field positions.

   — Tara Beecham

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