Mainly in SoCal… I don’t really know which CSUs or UCs to apply for now, I just want a good school that supports my major well.
If you have the math skills, I’d consider Environmental Engineering. Lots of unemployed E Sci majors. Cal Poly has a good program and it isn’t as competitive as most of the other engineering majors.
You might want to compare and contrast what each major offers in terms of focus and classes and then see what appeals to you. A BA will be different from a BS, and different schools offer different focus areas.
Here’s a way to search the Cal State offerings: http://degrees.calstate.edu/search-results/26/all/69/all?areaofstudy=Environmental%20Science
Are you more interested in Ecology, Sustainability, Hydrology, Climate Change, Wildlife Conservation or Environmental Policy?
Top UC’s would be UC Davis, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego but it may depend upon your emphasis.
Environmental Science/Studies covers of large area so you need to define your focus.
@Gumbymom I’m most interested in Climate Change
You need to check each schools curriculum for Environmental Science to see if they offer an emphasis in Climate change. Most programs give an overview of all the areas I listed and some offer concentrations specific to Climate change.
The UC’s tend to lean towards the more specific concentrations vs. the CSU’s which focus more on policy.
Also unless you go into Environmental Engineering/Civil Engineering with a concentration on Environmental, then you are looking at Grad school to make a good living.
My son graduated from UCD with an ESM degree, did research on ecological restoration and freshwater fisheries and is currently working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife as a Scientific Aide. He is planning to go back to Grad school and concentrate more policy but to move your way up in this field, you need a few years field experience along with a background in policy.
@eyemgh is correct that to get a good paying job with a BS, Engineering is the way to go.
Here are some links for programs at the UC’s: https://www.berkeley.edu/atoz/dept/E
http://desp.ucdavis.edu/environmental-science-and-management-major
https://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/ESYS.html
https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/envisci/
https://www.ess.uci.edu/undergrad/ba
https://ps.uci.edu/stuaff/current/degrees
I’m not very good at math though… But, the major does sound like something I’d like to pursue in the future.
Humboldt State is worth a look, but there are plenty of other good environmental programs among the CSUs (CSULB, CSU Monterey Bay, SDSU, SFSU, etc.).
I agree with Gumbymom that graduate school is usually necessary for a career in any environmental field. Professional degrees (MEM, MPP, MF, etc.) are useful for environmental studies/policy, and a PhD is the standard for environmental science/research.
The national unemployment rate for those with colleges degrees was 2.1% in August. I’m skeptical there’s a significant percentage of people of any major that are unemployed.
I agree with @warblersrule that unemployment is not a huge issue with Environmental science majors but unless you have an advanced degree, much of the work is seasonal with few benefits and you need to be willing to relocate often. My son has worked in Utah, Washington and California this past year but has acquired a great amount of field experience which has helped keep him continually employed.