University of Tennessee | Career Services

Environmental

Understanding Green Careers

Increasing population and economic growth issues have created complex environmental problems that impact all aspects of society creating a need for cross-sector interest and collaboration among government, nonprofit and private organizations. Traditional environmental fields of agriculture, natural resource management, pollution abatement and conservation are now expanding to incorporate innovative approaches in sustainable development, education, governance and democracy, poverty reduction, public health, security, and economic strategy to address growing environmental concerns. For example, waste management cannot be addressed simply with landfill policies, but must incorporate smart growth, recycling, emission capture, and creation of markets to turn waste into a useful commodity.

The idea of an environmental or green career is also evolving to meet the mounting demand for environmental sustainability within most if not all industries. The United States Department of Labor defines Green Careers as those industries that produce energy from renewable sources, improve energy efficiency, prevent and clean up pollution and greenhouse gases, and/or conserve natural resources:

Renewable Energy
Energy Efficiency
Alternative Fuel Transportation
Energy Storage
Energy Infrastructure
Air & Environment
Recycling & Waste

Water & Wastewater
Sustainable & Organic Agriculture
Research & Advocacy
Business Services
Finance & Investing
Advanced Materials
Green Building
Manufacturing & Industrial

While the field only makes up about 1-5% of all jobs, they represent a variety of careers and required education and training. To learn more about career paths in Green Industries:

GreenOccupedia.com
CareerOneStop.org
Idealist.org
What Can I Do with This Major?
While many academic disciplines can lead to a career working with the environment, you may want to view the links for majors such as environmental studies, sociology, political science and the various sciences.

Landing Jobs, Internships & Volunteer Opportunities

Government

The U.S. federal government is the largest single employer in the environmental career world. While the Environmental Protection Agency is the agency traditionally associated with environmental policy development in the U.S., including international environmental policy, many federal agencies pursue international environmental activities.
Example Government Agencies:

Agency for International Development
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Defense Environmental Network & Info Exchange
Department of Energy
Department of the Interior
US Forest Service
TN State Parks
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Army Corps of Engineers
Foreign Agricultural Service
TN Department of Natural Resources
TN Valley Authority (TVA)
AmeriCorps/Peace Corps
Keep Knoxville Beautiful
Geological Survey (USGS)
Center for Disease Control
Environmental Protection Agency
City of Knoxville Public Works

Nonprofits/Non-governmental Organizations

Nonprofit and non-governmental organizations, while numerous, do not offer significant employment opportunities and those that are available are highly competitive. According to a survey by the Environmental Careers Organization, the 30 best-known environmental nonprofit organizations employ less than 5,000 total, and approximately half of those employees are with The Nature Conservancy, the largest nonprofit group. While salaries are sometimes lower in nonprofits than government or private organizations, nonprofits are showing more willingness to reward hard work with increased compensation in order to maintain organizational stability. Nonprofits and NGOs provide excellent opportunities to gain experience through volunteering and internships.

Example NPO/NGOs:

Audubon International
Conservation International
Foundation for Sustainable Development
Greenpeace
National Arbor Day Foundation
Natural Resources Defense Council
National Outdoor Leadership School
The Nature Conservancy
Research Triangle Institute
Sierra Club
Trust for Public Land

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Wilderness Society
Worldwide Fund for Nature
World Wildlife Fund
The Student Conservation Association
Ijams Nature Center /
United Mountain Defense
Clinch-Powell Resource Conservation & Development
Knoxville Zoological Gardens
Beardsley Community Farm

Private/Corporate

The private sector consists of traditional businesses, social enterprises and consulting firms. Corporate Social Responsibility is a growing concern with traditional businesses who aim to regulate their environmental impact through their production methods or the product itself. These companies seek qualified employees to work in environmental compliance programs, incorporate environmental concerns into business strategies, improve performance by waste reduction and energy efficiency, and develop sustainable strategies.

There is also an emergence of social enterprises that have written environmental sustainability into their mission and bottom-line (i.e. Seventh Generation, Tom’s of Maine). These companies tend to be smaller but the opportunities and skills needed are varied as with any business (i.e. marketing, advertising, sales, supply chain, accounting, etc).

Environmental consulting firms provide technical assistance to both domestic and foreign government agencies to address environmental problems and solutions. They need both administrative managers who write and manage the contract proposals and technical experts who provide the research for various tasks in an awarded contract.

Example private companies: