I am unapologetic for comments that are made frequently when they are crucial.
To complete a degree is a great help for certain roles in the environment sector, but there are many jobs and organisations where your actual skills and personality count just as much as a higher‐level education. There is a significant move away from employers listing specific university qualifications towards the top of their adverts, and instead, professional skills and vocational qualifications are being actively listed. These skills might include specific job‐related safety and training courses, IT suite and other certifications. This is of relevance to employers who need to hire people with the professional skills they require, rather than just an academic qualification; it also can reduce the initial training costs for a new member of staff. In a commercial world with tight budgets, a candidate who has already completed some level of training is a plus. Many companies have recruitment sections that explain apprenticeships, internships, openings for ‘craft’ and manual professionals and school recruitment.
There is also a Masters/PhD dilemma for some people in the sector – they have a degree but wonder if going further in their studies will help them in finding a better job. There is no clear answer to this. I was faced with this dilemma towards the end of my degree – many friends were doing Master’s Degrees in Aquatic Resource Management in order to secure the best jobs, but I didn’t go down this route; the costs were unrealistic, and I wanted to get to work! It is true that some technical and academic roles will ask for higher level education, so researching your preferred area of work is essential.
My career development was an example of a career ‘curve’ rather than change. I worked in Fisheries Management for UK Government agencies for six years and within that period, I changed the focus of my work from fieldwork and monitoring, to management, policy development and research projects. This came partly from promotions, but also from seeing opportunities for new projects and taking them. I also took professional examinations to boost my qualifications and knowledge base. My increasing involvement in policy and strategy development led to me moving to London to work in lobbying and policy development. The career jump from a fisheries role to a lobbying role could be hard to explain and achieve, but the fact that I had ‘morphed’ my past role to include policy development, lobbying and public liaison was a major benefit in my career move. My view was always to see how I might develop different areas of expertise in case another role came up in a different area. However, it was never just a calculating move; I really enjoyed broadening my skills and experience.
My career in policy development also involved finance, management and project roles, which further developed my knowledge. I became a bit of a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’, which is why my current role, specialising in consulting, careers and books, is a wonderful return to a greater focus on fewer work areas. The balance between ‘generalism’ and specialism is considered several times in this book, as it has often been a point of discussion with other environmental professionals.
There were several learning points from the ‘middle’ period of my career. I had a degree of movement in my profession, but I always stayed within the environment sector. The reason that I was able to do this was due to me taking on new areas of work whenever I could, without affecting my day‐to‐day job. In fact, many of the new skills I learned greatly benefitted my role and in addition helped me build multi‐sectoral networks of new contacts. When a new job appeared, I already had a structured CV, which could be changed to match the numerous roles that were of interest to me. The ‘next role’ could have been financial, policy‐focused, governmental or in project management – I had gained work experience and skills in all of these sectors through tasks that I had added to my current role. In addition, I learned an important skill ‐ immerse yourself in the wider sector through networks, groups, newsletters and the like.
There is a significant debate between sector professionals, careers coaches and advisors over how much of a career plan you should have as well as the time span this should cover. My view, and my approach, is that a good practice to get into is to have a rough ‘game plan’, (not always strictly adhered to) which projects to the medium term, (perhaps five years) so that there is a focus for your career direction, network development, skills development and training. This can be a plan ‘in mind’, a structured mind map or document. Many careers advisors suggest a formalised career development plan, which aims to help in key areas: avoiding getting stuck in a rut; opening your eyes to new opportunities; having ideas of how to increase your skills and knowledge (such as training, taking on new projects and professional qualifications); and developing a clear sense of direction, which will give you confidence in your career progression. I have tended to avoid a formalised career plan because when I did have a developed one, it tended to give me a sense of irritation and impatience when I was behind the plan phases. However, for some people, a formal structure is very helpful.
Career planning is also a key moment to consider what you actually want to do. This is surprisingly rare as an action – many people are stuck in jobs that they do not really enjoy, from which they have no clear way out. If you project forward to your ideal role, you may be presented with areas of research and actions so that you can ‘curve’ your career in a positive way. This all sounds simple, but in practice, ‘life’ tends to get in the way; issues such as housing, family, finance and various other factors may make career change less possible. However, there are always ways in which you can continue to develop, ready for the next career step. Often, an ideal role falls right into your lap from nowhere and at other times, you hear of suitable roles from contacts or through sector research and networking.
I have been in the environment sector for more than 30 years and I feel that it is now time to pass on my experience to the next generation, which has a much more global outlook on career development. I mentor a group of young people in the environment sector, worldwide. A mentor is defined in the Cambridge English Dictionary (2021) as ‘a person who gives a younger or less experienced person help and advice over a period of time, especially at work or school’. The practical examples of this are reviewing resumes and applications, suggesting suitable employers, course choices, interview help and sometimes direct approaches and recommendations to potential employers. There is also the element of personal support which is always encouraging. I would recommend to anyone in the sector that they take on this role. There are many courses on how to develop mentoring skills and many companies have their own training schemes in this area.
I was inspired to write about green careers after finding a book in the shop at the wonderful Monterey Aquarium in California, USA, whilst on holiday. It was ‘Environmental Careers in the 21st Century’ by The Environmental Careers Organization, published in 1999. It is a really helpful text covering green careers, mainly in the USA.
There is also a growing number of ‘green career coaches’ who can help with career development. The US expert, Carol McClelland, was always a great source of information in terms of personal development in the green sector.
1.3 Introduction to the Book
This book is aimed at anyone worldwide who has an interest in developing a career in the environment sector: students, undergraduates, career‐changers, university and school careers services, major organisations that are asked for careers information and trade and professional body organisations in the environment sector.
There is a need for a resource that brings together a global text, as well as a linked online resource which cuts through the myriad jobs websites that one finds if you type ‘environmental jobs’ or ‘green jobs’ into a search engine, as well as the large number of books that examine a single country or a small part of the global environment sector.
This book focuses on the career paths that offer the greatest opportunities globally, specifically for those who want to develop an environmental career. There are, of course, many areas of work that are not covered. If I covered every sector, this book would be too big and unwieldy; areas such as mapping and GIS, wildlife crime and planning could easily
