A Primer for Careers in the Environmental Sciences

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In the formula for a successful and rewarding life one component stands high above the rest-a solid education. For those working in the environmental sciences, a solid education and the willingness to keep on learning is the ticket to a rewarding career. A solid understanding of scientific principles and technical skills are important assets for all environmental scientists. The attainment of these skills will open the door to many rewarding environmental science careers.

A scant ten years ago, there were only a handful of environmental businesses, while today the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that between 60,000 and 70,000 companies, organizations, and governmental agencies have an environmental agenda. Career opportunities in the environmental sciences are at an all-time high but the number of college graduates with training in the sciences has not kept pace. According to the College Student Journal, by the year 2000 the United States will need between 450,000 and 750,000 more chemists, physicists, engineers, and other scientists than it is expected to produce, and many of these job openings will be in the environmental sciences.

Tuition at two-year public schools is one-half or less than tuition at four- year public colleges and one-eighth of the cost of private colleges. Further, many two-year schools have open-door admission policies that make them accessible to everyone. Also, these colleges are community based, which makes them convenient for students who need to maintain a close link with family or employers. Unlike four-year colleges, where you may be forced to travel far to find a specific program, two-year schools are much more numerous and the chances of finding just the right program close to home are quite good. Most community colleges also offer liberal arts transfer curriculums that prepare students with the first two years of courses, after which they can transfer to a four-year school and receive a baccalaureate degree.



In the environmental field, workers with many forms of technical training are in high demand. The areas of solid waste management, hazardous waste management, air and water quality, and land and water conservation, just to name a few, presently have a shortage of qualified technicians. The cleanup work generated by the closing of military bases across the country and the federal and state Superfund hazardous and toxic waste cleanup programs alone will employ hundreds of thousands of new workers well into the next century. In fact, the projected demand for hazardous waste management technicians alone in the 1990s is between 300,000 and 1.5 million. Environ-mental technicians and specialists are the backbone of plant operations and testing facilities. There literally would be no environmental job field without these individuals.

Some community colleges that have developed strong programs for hazardous materials training are: Truckee Meadows Community College, Nevada; Eastern Iowa Community College; South Seattle Community College; Front Range Community College, Colorado; and Stark Technical College, Ohio.

Sources of Further Information

Peterson's Guide to Two-Year Colleges (annual). Published by Peterson's Guides. Lists more than 30 majors related to the environment and includes a two-page description of most schools.

Lovejoy's Career and Vocational School Guide (1991). Published by Prentice-Hall.

The Blue Book of Occupational Education (1991). Published by MacMillan Publishing Company. Lists schools both by state and type of occu-pational education program.

National Council of Trade and Technical Schools, 2021 L St. NW, Washington, DC 20036

A good place to write for additional information on schools or specific programs.

Technical Certificate Programs: Specialized Environmental Training

Often a valuable asset for career growth is a certificate of training from an educational institution or a certificate of qualification from a national technical society. Many community colleges, technical schools, and continuing education departments of universities offer short-term certificate classes that teach environmental science specialists or technicians how to use particular technologies or systems. Employers often pay the tuition costs and classes are taught during off-working hours and are of short duration, lasting anywhere from a one-day seminar to several classes over an eight-week period. Many of these programs are viewed by employers as criteria for advancement, such as from technician to plant operator. Some common certificate programs are in hazardous waste management, water quality management, air pollution control, and biotechnology.

Many national technical societies offer certificates of qualification to their members. To attain a certificate members usually must take a written test and prove that they have the required amount of work experience. While these certificates do not carry the same weight with employers as program certificates, they allow society members access to national and regional job listings and an established network to other technicians. In addition, membership in a national technical society is a resume builder. Technical societies normally charge nominal annual dues.

BACHELOR S DEGREE PROGRAMS

Four-Year Schools: Professional Career Preparation

Almost all environmental professionals need to complete at least a four-year bachelor of science degree (BS). There are two related but substantively different routes to an environmental career. Environmental studies is a broad field that encompasses not only the basic sciences but also the life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. The term interdisciplinary is often used when describing this field because students are exposed to environmental issues from the perspective of several academic disciplines. Course requirements include, along with the basic science courses, environmental ethics, environmental policy, human ecology, and economics. Environmental science is a much narrower approach to the study of the environment. Students study specific environmental issues using the scientific tools of their chosen discipline. Some of the more popular majors like chemistry, engineering, soil science, biology, ecology, geology, industrial hygiene, and forestry are considered environmental science majors. Students finish their degree with a specialized research or field project using the methods of analysis of their major discipline.
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