Careers

What You Can Do with a Degree in Environmental Science

You can view a bachelor's degree in environmental science in two ways:

  1. Pre-professional training that leads directly to a career in environmental science, or
  2. A broad, well-rounded undergraduate science program that offers excellent intellectual preparation for a large range of career options.

Typical Careers within Environmental Sciences

We're still working on this page.  In the meantime, visit www.environmentalscience.org/careers for information related to careers in Environmental Sciences.

The Professional Geologist License

It is worth knowing that in Pennsylvania and many other states there are professional licenses for both geologists and engineers.  This is no equivalent yet for environmental scientists.  The Professional Geologist (P.G.) license allows geologists working in careers outside of academia and the petroleum industry to work independently in the field.  This means that a lot of environmental work involving that involving groundwater, surface water, soil contamination, etc., must be conducted or overseen by someone either with a P.G. or P.E. (professional engineer) license.  Here is how this might affect you:  Both environmental geologists and environmental scientists with a B.S. will spend the first five years or so of their career doing lots of lower level sampling and related grunt work in the field.  Once a geologist gets the P.G. license, they can now do environmental work independently in the field, or they can supervise other people working in the field.  Without this license you would either continue to do lower level work or you would move into the non-science side of project management.  Please note:  If your career deals with environmental problems outside of traditional geologic practice, then the P.G. is not relevant to you.  Don't worry about it!

To take the Professional Geologist exams you need 30 credits of geology classes, including required classes in structural geology and geology summer field camp.  There is a link in the Geology B.S. page that fully explains the P.G. requirements.