Graduating with a useless degree?

Hi there! I am 10 years out of my undergrad with a degree in environmental science. I wish I would have asked the world of Reddit what my options were, so kudos to you! With your environmental expertise, you can go down a lot of paths. Especially since you sound like more of an environmental generalist, you have many doors.

Do you like research and writing? Look for NEPA or CEQA related jobs. That’s a great career path that is always hiring.

Do you want to be outside doing survey work? If so, you might want a specialization (water, plants, trees, geology, archeology). Not required to get started, but something to keep in mind as you progress through your career.

Do you want to be outside talking to people? Environmental construction monitoring and compliance is your friend.

Growing in the business side, as folks have pointed out, are corporate sustainability jobs. I am very excited about this, myself. This means setting goals for a corporation (net zero water use, net zero carbon by 2030 are common) and making a plan to achieve that goal. There are also a lot of “green building” codes that you can be involved in through that work. These jobs are high paying and can be remote.

I have been in and out of government, nonprofits, and private industry. I currently manage environmental compliance for a civil engineering company. You have flexibility depending on what you want.

I’m sure there are lot of more road for you, and I know other folks will chime in!

Other options: habitat conservation and remediation, city planning, landscape architecture, hazmat management

/r/findapath Thread