Environmental Science major?

College Majors Science Majors
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<p>I was just wondering what sort of things you'd do with a major in Environmental Science (or Environmental Studies). I'm passionate about protecting the Earth, but I don't know what one would do with a degree. So I have a few questions revolving a major in environmental science. My main passion is writing, but I'm also involved with a few of "environmental" type activities, like a school club and local organization that holds volunteer activities like cleaning up natural lakes, etc.</p>

<p>Is graduate school a necessity?
What jobs are typical to somebody with said major? Do you work in a lab doing research, or outside?</p>

<p>Yes, I have googled and the search really didn't yield anything remotely helpful so I'd definitely appreciate your time.</p>

<p>Sorry if this is kind of vague. I know what you'll learn, and it interests me, I just don't know what sort of job one would hold with this degree.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

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<p>Is graduate school necessary? From what I’ve asked the professors at my school, and from job searches, either by cold calling or online, or through organizations themselves, the answer is yes. The minimum is a Masters in Environmental Science. However, you can go an alternative route. You can major in Geology and find work with a B.S. depending on where you want to go. Geology is not only about rocks and minerals, but the Earth as a system. Geology also branches off into different fields, such as Environmental Geology(probably where you want to go, and many schools offer this track), exploration, structural, planetary, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Paleontology, and the list goes on. As for what you do, it’s a mixture of field work and office work.</p>

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<p>This is a very broad field, so there are exceptions to any answer I could give you.</p>

<p>Generally speaking, you want a PhD if that’s an option. Without one you’ll spend a lot of years doing what other people (who have PhD’s) tell you to do. With a PhD you have more flexibility in shaping your job into the career you want it to be.</p>

<p>Some environmental scientists focus on policy, and effectively become office workers. Others spend more time in the field. Many positions involve sampling, analysis, and report writing, but unless you’re in academia you would rarely be involved in all three phases.</p>

<p>Also, “in the field” will mean different things depending on the context. For me, “in the field” in grad school meant going out on a boat and sampling water and sediment in coastal bays and estuaries. When I got my first job out of grad school, “in the field” meant wearing boots and a hard hat and a gas mask while collecting solid, liquid, and gas waste stream samples at hazardous waste incinerators. I never analyzed any of those samples; that was left mainly to bachelor’s level chemists. I got the results and worked up the data for the reports. The only time I collected samples, did the lab analysis, and wrote up the results was when I was in grad school.</p>

<p>Here’s a link to what the U.S. Government says the job is. [Environmental</a> Scientist](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/k12/science04.htm]Environmental”>http://www.bls.gov/k12/science04.htm)</p>

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<p>Alright, thank you both! You were quite helpful and I appreciate your time.</p>

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<p>OP, you mentioned that your main “passion” is writing. You also might want to consider programs in environmental humanities, which look at the environment from literary, historical, and ethical/religious perspectives. Some of these programs are interdisciplinary and some find their departmental home in English departments. Some of these programs include a creative writing component. Here are some programs to give you an idea of this:
[Stony</a> Brook University BA in Environmental Humanities](<a href=“http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/sustainability/majors_humanities.html]Stony”>http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/sustainability/majors_humanities.html)
[Environmental</a> Humanities Certificate | Department of English](<a href=“http://english.clas.asu.edu/environmentalhumanities]Environmental”>http://english.clas.asu.edu/environmentalhumanities)
[Environmental</a> Humanities || Bucknell University](<a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/x37397.xml]Environmental”>http://www.bucknell.edu/x37397.xml)
[Environmental</a> Humanities Courses](<a href=“http://www.artsci.washington.edu/newsletter/June11/EnvironmentalHumanities.asp]Environmental”>http://www.artsci.washington.edu/newsletter/June11/EnvironmentalHumanities.asp)
[Department</a> of English, Environmental Humanities](<a href=“http://english.uvic.ca/research/environmental_humanities.html]Department”>English - University of Victoria)
[PEAK</a> Guide for the College of Idaho Environmental Humanities](<a href=“http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/media/PEAK_Guide/program.asp?program=Environmental%20Humanities&type=minor]PEAK”>http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/media/PEAK_Guide/program.asp?program=Environmental%20Humanities&type=minor)
<a href=“http://www.depts.ttu.edu/honors/evhm/[/url]”>http://www.depts.ttu.edu/honors/evhm/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You also might consider programs in environmental journalism, or, more broadly, science journalism. Here are some links:

[Center</a> for Environmental Journalism | University of Colorado at Boulder](<a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/journalism/cej/]Center”>CEJ | College of Media, Communication and Information | University of Colorado Boulder)
[Society</a> of Environmental Journalists: Careers in Environmental Journalism](<a href=“http://www.sejarchive.org/careers/]Society”>Society of Environmental Journalists: Careers in Environmental Journalism)
[Knight</a> Center for Environmental Journalism](<a href=“http://ej.msu.edu/about.php]Knight”>http://ej.msu.edu/about.php)
[Fellowships</a> in Environmental Journalism | Middlebury](<a href=“Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest | Middlebury”>Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest | Middlebury)
[Environmental</a> Journalism in the Greenhouse Era](<a href=“FAIR - FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.”>FAIR - FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.)
[Earth</a> and Environmental Sciences Journalism](<a href=“http://www.gsas.columbia.edu/departments/earth-env-sciences-journalism/department.html]Earth”>http://www.gsas.columbia.edu/departments/earth-env-sciences-journalism/department.html)
[Science</a>, Health and Environmental Reporting Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University](<a href=“http://journalism.nyu.edu/graduate/courses-of-study/science-health-and-environmental-reporting/]Science”>Science, Health & Environmental Reporting - NYU Journalism)
[Environmental</a> and Science Journalism Curriculum-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism](<a href=“http://journalism.berkeley.edu/program/science/]Environmental”>http://journalism.berkeley.edu/program/science/)
[FORA.tv</a> - The Future of Science & Environmental Journalism](<a href=“http://fora.tv/2009/02/12/The_Future_of_Science_and_Environmental_Journalism]FORA.tv”>http://fora.tv/2009/02/12/The_Future_of_Science_and_Environmental_Journalism)
[Science</a> and Environmental Writing Program](<a href=“http://cas.lehigh.edu/casweb/default.aspx?id=465]Science”>http://cas.lehigh.edu/casweb/default.aspx?id=465)
[WWF</a> - Recommendations on environmental journalism](<a href=“Oh no! The page you are looking for has gone extinct... | WWF”>Oh no! The page you are looking for has gone extinct... | WWF)
[MA</a> in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism | The University of Montana School of Journalism](<a href=“http://www.jour.umt.edu/degree-programs/ma-journalism]MA”>http://www.jour.umt.edu/degree-programs/ma-journalism)
[Environmental</a> Journalism — Environmental Studies](<a href=“Home - Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin Oshkosh”>Home - Environmental Studies University of Wisconsin Oshkosh)
[J</a> 395 Environmental Journalism | School of Journalism](<a href=“http://journalism.utexas.edu/graduate/syllabi/spring-2010/j-395-environmental-journalism]J”>http://journalism.utexas.edu/graduate/syllabi/spring-2010/j-395-environmental-journalism)
[LSC</a> Website|Life Sciences Communication University of Wisconsin-Madison](<a href=“http://lsc.wisc.edu/]LSC”>http://lsc.wisc.edu/)</p>

<p>Some of the programs in environmental/science journalism are found in colleges of agriculture, where traditional programs in agricultural journalism have morphed into a communication specialty with a broader focus. Also, several of the programs are offered primarily as graduate programs, but if you plan on graduate school, you could apply to such programs after an undergrad degree in environmental sciences. Or, you could consider combining a major in the environmental field with a straight-up journalism or PR major if you have an interest either in the reporting or advocacy side of environmental issues.</p>

<p>Some schools offer a primary focus on policy aspects, e.g., [School</a> of Public and Environmental Affairs | Indiana University Bloomington](<a href=“Indiana University Bloomington”>Indiana University Bloomington) either as a specialty in a public policy major or as a track in an environmental studies major.</p>

<p>When looking at environmental programs, don’t overlook programs in colleges of agricultural/natural resources at public land grant universities. Some of the most innovative programs will be found in such schools. If you’re interested in policy, also consider the options in environmental.natural resources economics and policy in depts. of ag economics at land grant public universities.</p>

<p>Finally, if you’re interested in international aspects, many international relations programs offer thematic options in international environmental issues.</p>

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<p>Hi franzferdinand!</p>

<p>I am a senior Environmental Studies (ENST) major at the University of Southern California. I have taken hard-core, pre-med science classes (bio, chem, etc.) and a variety of classes in other departments (business, international relations, polisci, etc.). I feel like my education is well-rounded but specific. At USC, you choose one of three concentrations for an ENST major or minor.</p>

<p>[Curriculum</a> > Environmental Studies > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://dornsife.usc.edu/environmental-studies/curriculum/]Curriculum”>http://dornsife.usc.edu/environmental-studies/curriculum/)</p>

<p>I chose to obtain a B.S. with a concentration in Sustainability, Energy and Society. I was able to perform a directed research project on island ecology on Catalina Island, CA. Summer 2010 I traveled to Guam, USA, and Palau, Micronesia. My colleagues and I performed underwater SCUBA research diving on coral reef diversity and coral bleaching. There is also a Maymester trip to Belize.</p>

<p>[Multimedia</a> Gallery > Environmental Studies > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://dornsife.usc.edu/environmental-studies/multimedia-gallery/]Multimedia”>http://dornsife.usc.edu/environmental-studies/multimedia-gallery/)</p>

<p>After graduating, I do plan to go to graduate school eventually, to gain more specific knowledge regarding environmental policy and economics. My colleagues who studied abroad with me in Guam, Palau and Australia are aiming for Ph.D.'s in marine science and conservation. </p>

<p>[Career</a> Opportunities > Environmental Studies > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://dornsife.usc.edu/environmental-studies/career-opportunities/]Career”>http://dornsife.usc.edu/environmental-studies/career-opportunities/)</p>

<p>Our staff is highly qualified and awesome at their jobs! They love teaching and talking about their independent research projects and experiences. I feel like I can do anything with my B.S.</p>

<p>I hope this is helpful!</p>

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