"I enjoy working in this field, because energy and its effective management is essential for any developing economy. If you can help a country address its energy needs in a more sustainable way, then you have gone a long way in moving them towards a path of sustainable economic growth." - Myra Frazier, US Environmental Protection Agency

Have you ever been called a tree hugger or told you have a green thumb? Does the connection between what is outside and how we feel inside send your mind reeling? According to Kevin Doyle, program director at the Environmental Careers Organization, now is a great time to consider a career in international environmental work. Last year, the environmental industry's domestic market generated $200 billion, while the global market generated $300 billion dollars. This translates to a lot of money, services and jobs.

What Types of Jobs Exist?

According to Doyle, the key word is water. Developing and developed countries, are consumed with the important issue of providing safe, accessible drinking water to their urban and rural populations. There are also critical initiatives around water and sanitation and, of course, water's link to disease -- think malaria, dengue fever, etc. While some of this work is done at the country government and multilateral levels -- i.e. World Bank, UNEP -- much is done by the private sector. Consulting firms and civil and environmental engineering companies work on this issue around the globe.

Beyond water, there are a variety of fields to consider: biodiversity/conservation, energy, hazardous and solid waste disposal, parks and outdoor recreation, forestry, environmental education and environmental health, to name a few.

Academic Backgrounds

Resources The Yale School of Forestry, the University of Michigan, Duke and the University of California at Berkeley have reputations as top schools in the field. For more information on these and other graduate programs, check out Environmental Studies: 2000, published by the Environmental Careers Organization (ECO). Be sure to also investigate The Complete Guide to Environmental Careers in the 21st Century. Both can be found here. ECO is a national, nonprofit educational organization founded in 1972 with three regional offices in the US. ECO's Web site is an important source for career information related to the environment.

One of the first things to ask when considering an environmental career, notes Doyle, is whether you want to be a scientist doing research and fieldwork or someone who is involved in policy or project management. If science is your passion, you will probably need a PhD. Scientists and academicians are doing exciting work in the area of biodiversity and conservation, as well as energy efficiency work.

Someone who is considering a career in energy and climate change needs a "basic understanding of energy policy, both domestically and internationally, combined with an ability to understand basic economic concepts and their application to specific policy outcomes," says Myra Frazier, an environmental protection specialist with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the Office of Atmospheric Programs. She also mentions the importance of being able to work effectively with international partners, especially those in developing countries.

More and more, there is a market for graduate degrees in environmental science or policy, so if this describes you, you'll find you have a leg up on the competition.

Who Hires Environmental Professionals?

Federal government jobs exist in organizations like the EPA, the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Centers for Disease Control -- all offices dealing with international activities. Policy analysts and projects managers are not only employed by government agencies, but also by nonprofit organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International. Of course, large multilateral organizations like United Nations Environment Programme (http://www.unep.org/) and the World Bank Group (http://www.worldbank.org/) are involved in all sorts of environmental projects. These jobs are highly competitive, often requiring a master's degree, Peace Corps or similar developing country experience, a second language and relevant internship or job experience.

The private sector plays a very large role. Engineering firms and consulting firms work closely with country governments to build wastewater treatment plants and provide primary and secondary water treatment. Development consulting firms like Chemonics and DAI often manage government and multilateral projects.