Environmental Scientist Careers

"Scientists Are Part-Time Writers...
People would be surprised by how much writing I do. Between writing my own research papers and proposals and helping others with theirs, I spend about a third of my time writing and editing." (Scientist; 2014)

"Gender Inequality Is Alive And Well...
I think what is most surprising is that it's still difficult for women to get ahead in this type of career. You think the glass ceiling no longer exists and there is no gender bias, but that's simply not true. Although I have several years of experience in my field, people still say to me, "Is there a man I can talk to?" It's ridiculous and demoralizing." (Compliance Solutions Consultant; 2014)

"Variability In Job Opportunities And Work Environments...
The lack of entry level permanent jobs is severe in environmental and biological sciences. Most jobs are seasonal until you have many years of experience or go on to attain a masters degree and conduct a personal research project. The opportunity to work independently and outside most of the time though is substantial." (Environmental Scientist /Ecologist; 2014)

"Program Vision And Patience Is As Important As Science Education...
I was most surprised by the amount of time we spent developing a program to implement and how little time we actually spent on implementation. Developing a government program for environmental or public health protection requires patience and the willingness to stick it out (lots of false starts). But I was also happily surprised by the amount of interaction with the general public." (I Was An Environmental Program Manager; 2014)

"Job Security And Opportunity Does Increase With A College Degree...
What most surprised me about my profession is that I was able to immediately find work out of college. People complain these days that college degrees are less important now and job security won't increase with one, but my degree definitely did. Within three weeks of graduating, I was approached by multiple renewable energy companies in North Carolina for work." (Sustainable Energy Policy And Economics; 2014)