You’ve heard the question a thousand times: “What do you do with an environmental studies [environmental science / geography / sustainability] degree after you graduate?”
If you’re like me, you have a few pre-programmed responses ready, depending on who you’re speaking with. Girlfriend or boyfriend’s parents? Law school, for environmental law. Someone you just met at your university’s green club? Maybe work at an NGO for a few years, and meet people in the industry. Or travel abroad for a few years to work in sustainable development. Or pursue a master’s degree in environmental policy.
Or just buy up a bunch of land in Alaska and plan to host surfing competitions in 2050.
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Unlike most other majors, we in “green studies” — by which I mean environmental studies/science, sustainability, and related fields; if you think your major falls into this category, it probably does — we in green studies don’t have a default plan coming out of college. Business majors have MBA programs, Poli Sci students have law school, and those in the hard sciences can go pre-med or work in engineering.
Naturally, those are huge stereotypes, and the majority of the students in those programs don’t actually take the “typical” path. But the fact is that the path is there. Enough students have come and gone through these programs and out into the world that it’s hard not to follow in the footsteps of someone else after graduation.
We don’t have that option. Take a look at the environmental programs at your university — they’re maybe 5, 10 years old? If they’re like the programs at UCLA, my home university, they’re the fastest-growing on campus. But all that popularity just means there are more students without a clear idea of where to go after they graduate.
This question — what does a green studies student do after he/shes graduates — is fascinating to me for two reasons. First, because I am a green studies student graduating next June, and I’m trying hard to narrow down options among a lot of things that seem interesting. And second, because it leads to a much bigger (and arguably more important) question: How does a green studies student create an exciting life working on environmental issues without relying on the “make money first, then follow your passions” mantra?
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To wrap up, let’s get a quick overview of this new feature:
What is the goal of this feature?
To answer two questions:
- What does one do with a green studies degree after graduating?
- How does a university-age student create an exciting life working on environmental issues?
Who is this feature for?
- Green studies students — primarily undergrads, but grad students and the recently-done-with-school may also find topics of interest
- Students that care about the environment — those that may not be majoring in the field, but want to incorporate environmentalism or sustainability into their life plans
- College freshmen (or even high schoolers) — those that are looking for an interesting and quickly growing field to start in, and want to see if green studies is a good choice
- Environmental organizations (NGOs, tech firms, etc.) — to better understand the needs, interests, and fears of the students you want to hire
- Green studies program coordinators and staff — to help make the transition for your graduates more effective and less stressful
Who is this feature not for?
- Those that are not convinced by the scientific consensus on global warming
- Those that would like to avoid “the path less traveled by”
- Those that are already established in the working world (but please continue to read if you find it interesting!)
I’ll follow up later this week with a post about my own situation and with further details on the plan of this feature. I might even have a title for it. Until then, check this video out — it’s the video that convinced me I needed to devote my life to environmental issues (more in-depth version here).
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Photo credit: http://www.mypointless.com/2008_05_01_archive.html
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