Job & Career Links and Resources Opportunities Sign   Green Jobs

The following job and career links and resources are provided below:

Background: Career Pathways/Jobs in ERM&P2

Handout: Career Pathways in ERM&P2

Many students ask the question, "What can I do with a degree in ERM&P2?". The answer is, "Quite a lot!".

Here's just a sampling of potential career pathways/jobs in ERM&P2 (please note that this listing is aimed more at those having an associate’s degree; more opportunities (including higher-level jobs) open up for those who transfer and subsequently earn a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, environmental science, or a related field).

  • Environmental Compliance Coordinator / Environmental Compliance Inspector: Ensure that businesses & industry comply with applicable environmental laws & regulations. Coordinators work for the business, while Inspectors work for the government (federal/state/local).
  • Green Business Certifier: Help businesses reduce their environmental impact & earn green certifications. Note: DeAnza College is certified as a “Green Business” thanks to ERM&P2 students!
  • Sustainability Coordinator: Coordinate an organization’s efforts to reduce their environmental impact and operate in a more sustainable manner.
  • Environmental Impact Assessor: Assess the environmental impacts of proposed development projects (such as a new manufacturing plant) & investigate ways to reduce or eliminate such impacts.
  • Environmental Site Assessor: Assess commercial, industrial, and multi-family residential properties for potential environmental contamination.
  • Environmental Remediation & Restoration Technician: Aid in development & implementation of plans to clean-up and restore land, buildings & properties having environmental contamination.
  • Pollution Prevention Specialist: Look to reduce/minimize/eliminate pollution & waste from residential, commercial and industrial sources using the “3 R’s” (Reduce/Reuse/Recycle).
  • Environmental Health Officer: Seek to reduce impacts of environmental hazards (such as pollution & waste, noise & radiation, food & waterborne diseases, vectors, & pesticides) on human health.
  • Industrial Ecologist: Use the lessons & examples offered by nature to make products & services, manufacturing, and industrial & commercial facilities & operations more efficient & sustainable.
  • Climate Change Specialist: Monitor sources of greenhouse gas emissions and the associated impacts of climate change and analyze ways to reduce emissions and minimize and adapt to impacts.
  • Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Specialist: Identify, assess, and implement measures to address IAQ concerns, such as asbestos, mold, radon, dust, chemical cleaners, & pesticides.
  • Environmental Sampling & Lab Technicians: Sampling technicians collect air, water, soil, and waste samples which lab technicians then analyze to check for potential contamination levels.

And when it comes to pay, these and similar jobs represent good, well-paying jobs with solid growth potential. In that regard, here’s what the California Employment Development Department reports overall based on figures obtained from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:

  • Environmental Technician (associates degree): $58,739 median salary in California for 2019 with a 12.8% projected growth in jobs in California expected between 2016-2026.
  • Environmental Protection Specialist (bachelors degree): $88,596 median salary in California for 2019 with a 11.8% projected growth in jobs in California expected between 2016-2026.

The "bottom line": There is tremendous diversity in the jobs & careers available in ERM&P2 – and they are good, well-paying jobs, especially if one continues on to earn a Bachelor’s degree! So come & do good for the planet (& all of us on it) while getting paid well to do so!

Background: Major Sources of Environmental Jobs

Environmental job opportunities range far and wide, both in the nature of the work as well as who offers those opportunities. In terms of the latter, the main sources of environmental jobs are as follows:

  • Government (Federal/State/Local): Including regulatory agencies (USEPA, BAAQMD, etc.), natural resource management agencies (US Fish & Wildlife Service, California State Parks, etc.), and city/county entities (Env. Services Depts, Health Depts, Public Works Depts, Parks Depts, etc.)
  • Utilities (Water/Energy), Waste Mgmt/Recycling Firms, & Mass Transit Agencies: Both public (gov’t owned/operated) and private entities, such as San Jose Water Company, PG&E, Recology, and BART.
  • Professional Service Firms (Consulting/Design, Construction/Remediation): From very small, one-office, locally-focused firms (like a local construction company) to huge, 500+ office operations working internationally with 50,000+ employees (like AECOM & Bechtel).
  • Non-Profits (International/National/State/Local-Focused): From small, narrowly-focused entities (like Guadalupe River Park Conservancy & Friends of the Sea Otter) to large, broadly-focused national/international entities (line Sierra Club & Conservation International).
  • Green Product or Service Businesses/Manufacturers: From environmentally-friendly dry cleaners to solar panel manufacturers, opportunities exist in virtually every business/industry sector now.
  • Educational Institutions/Entities: Encompassing both formal education (K-12, college, vocational training) and informal (outdoor education, parks, zoos, aquariums & nature centers, non-profit educational programs, nature expeditions, etc.).

Provided below are both general and specific resources for finding “green” jobs from the above sources of such jobs.
Best of luck in your job hunt!!

"Handshake"

De Anza College has partnered with Handshake as a job and internship platform for students and employers. Students can log in to search and apply for jobs and internships, get career tips and more.

Students can log in using the "Handshake" app under MyPortal.

General Job Websites

Environmentally-Focused Job Websites

  • Environmental Career Opportunities (ECO): https://www.ecojobs.com
    (Note: A subscription service, but the subscription is relatively cheap)
  • EnvironmentalJobs.com: https://www.environmentaljobs.com
    (Note: They have a relationship with the ECO website)
  • Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals Job Board: https://jobs.ahmpnet.org/
    (Note: Lists a variety of Environmental, Health & Safety positions)
  • California Association for Environmental & Outdoor Education (Cal AEOE) Job Board: https://aeoe.org/jobs
    (Note: Lists environmental and outdoor education jobs located in California.)
  • Society for Conservation Biology Job Board: https://careers.conbio.org
    (Note: Lists a variety of jobs in conservation biology; can browse available jobs by discipline.)

Government (Federal/State/Local) Job Boards

Utilities (Water/Energy), Waste Mgmt/Recycling Firms, & Mass Transit Agency Job Boards

Professional Environmental Service Firm Listings
(Consulting/Design Firms, Construction/Remediation Firms, etc.)

Click here to access the following listings with links provided to the firms websites:

  • Notable Professional Environmental Service Firms With Offices In The Bay Area
  • Top 200 Professional Environmental Service Firms Nationwide/Internationally

Environmental Non-Profit Organization Listings

Click here to access the following listings with links provided to the orgs websites:

  • Notable Local and State Environmental Non-Profit Organizations
  • Notable National Environmental Non-Profit Organizations

Environmental Education Job Boards

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