Your environmental career will develop from the combination of your major, practical experience and unique personal qualities. Take advantage of internships, volunteer opportunities, clubs, and other activities to expand and deepen your environment-related experience -- and explore these links to see where they can take you!
Career Resources
- What can I do with this major? - Scroll down and click the the "Careers in Environmental Science" box! Explore career titles, career-planning tips, and examples of organizations that ENSP majors could work for! (From UMD/BSOS Career Center)
- What can I do with a major in...? - includes applicable job titles, job and internship links, and industry information links (from UNC-Wilmington)
- Careers in Science - great information from ScienceBuddies.org. Ignore the "kiddie" language -- the information, the variety of career-related images, and salary information are excellent.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook - a "classic" from the US Dept of Labor, includes salary information
- USDA 2015-2020 Job Outlook Report: Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in Food, Agriculture, Renewable Natural Resources, and the Environment
- Emerging careers: Environmental Science: from Pearson Education: "job prospects in this field are great, and the demand for green expertise is only growing."
Types of Careers
Life Sciences careers
- Agriculture & Interdisciplinary Research
- Botany
- Botany - a personal view: Tracy Misiewicz, ENSP-Biodiversity, Class of 2004
- Conservation Biologist
- Ecological Restoration
- Fisheries Science
- Forestry
- Landscape Architecture - ASLA
- Landscape Architecture - BLS
- Marine Biology
- Ornithology
- Park Ranger
- Science Policy
- State Parks - Maryland
- Urban Agriculture
- Veterinary Medicine
- Wildlife Biologist
- Wildlife Conservation and Management
- Wildlife Rehabilitation
- Zoos and Aquariums
Earth Systems careers
- Climate Change Research
- Ecological Restoration
- Environmental Health (WHO)
- Environmental Health and Safety Management (NAEM)
- Environmental Protection
- Environmental Remediation
- Geoscience - including Geology, Hydrology, and more!
- Geoscience and Remote Sensing
- Hydrologist
- Interdisciplinary Research in Agriculture
- Marine and Aquatic Sciences
- Meteorology
- Oceanography
- NOAA Commissioned Officer
- Physical Geography
- Science Policy
- Soil Science
- State Parks - Maryland
- Sustainability Coordinator
- Water Resources Management
- Water - multi-disciplinary opportunities
Policy & Planning careers
- Climate Change and National Security
- Ecological Anthropology
- Ecosystem Valuation
- Environmental Justice
- Environmental Law
- Environmental Sociology
- Geography
- Local government/planning - for any city!
- Historic Preservation
- Land and Cultural Resource Conservation
- Landscape Architecture - ASLA
- Landscape Architecture - BLS
- Lobbying
- Marine and Coastal Management
- Marine Policy
- Ocean Economics
- Planning
- Policy Analysis
- Policy Guidance and Advice
- State Parks - Maryland
- Sustainability Careers
- Sustainability in Business
- Urban and Regional Planning
- Water - multi-disciplinary opportunities
Environmental & Outdoor Education careers
Writing, Journalism & Publishing careers
- Science Writing
- Science and Natural History Filmmaking
- Conservation Photography
- Nature Photography
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Outdoor Writing
- Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ)
- Note: Students interested in science writing and environmental journalism may take supporting courses in Journalism, provided they first satisfy Journalism's admissions requirements.
- Bay Journal: The Chesapeake Bay Newspaper
- Island Press: Publishing
- Scientific American
- Worldwatch Institute
Career Fields
Federal Government
- GoGovernment.org - Partnership for Public Service
- USA Jobs - Federal government, all agencies, nationwide. Go to Advanced Search, then select by Location (United States), Agency (whichever one you're interested in), Type of Work (permanent), Work Schedule (full-time), and Show Jobs Posted (all). See what you get. Then "tweak" your search, e.g., changing locations, agencies, recent postings only, etc.
- USA Jobs - Pathways - for students and recent grads
- AmeriCorps
- BLM - Bureau of Land Management
- BOEM - Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
- CRS - Congressional Research Service
- DOE - Department of Energy
- DOI - Department of Interior
- EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
- EPA Environmental Justice Climate Corps (EJCC) Program
- NCCOS - National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
- NPS - National Park Service
- NSF - National Science Foundation
- ORISE - post-graduate research internships at the EPA
- USACE - US Army Corps of Engineers
- USDA - US Department of Agriculture
- USFS - US Forest Service
- USFWS - US Fish and Wildlife Service
Federal search: Plan your internship search with the federal government with these tips.
State & Local Government
- District of Columbia
- Maryland - National Capital Park and Planning Commission
- Maryland - State employment opportunities
- Metropolitan Washington - Council of Governments
- Montgomery County, MD
- American Planning Association - local government, planning, etc. - national listings
Non-Profit
- American Economics Association - national listings
- American Geophysical Union - Washington, DC
- American Planning Association - national listings
- American Water Resources Association
- American Wind Energy Association - Washington, DC
- Appalachian Trail Conservancy
- Audubon Society - national listings
- Chesapeake Bay Program - Annapolis, MD
- Chesapeake Bay Trust
- Econ-Jobs.com
- Environmental Defense Fund - Washington, DC
- Humane Society of the United States - Washington, DC
- Idealist.org - non-profit organizations
- Journalism Jobs.com
- Land Trust Alliance - Washington, DC
- League of Conservation Voters - Washington, DC
- National Geographic - Washington, DC
- National Groundwater Association
- National Parks Conservation Association - Washington, DC
- National Wildlife Federation - Reston, VA
- Natural Resources Defense Council - Washington, DC
- Nature Conservancy - Arlington, VA
- Ocean Conservancy - Washington, DC
- OPAJOBS.COM - opportunities in public affairs
- Orion Grassroots - Jobsource
- Pew Center for Global Climate Change - Arlington, VA
- PIRG.org
- Rare, Arlington, VA
- Resources for the Future - Washington, DC
- Smithsonian Institution - Washington, DC
- Trust for Public Land
- Wilderness Society, Washington, DC
- World Resources Institute (WRI) - Washington, DC
Science
- AgCareers.com
- American Fisheries Society
- American Zoo and Aquarium Association
- AquacultureJobs.com
- Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands
- Chesapeake Research Consortium - Annapolis, MD
- Conservation International
- Conservation Job Board
- Cyber-Sierra - Natural Resources Job Search
- Ecological Society of America - Washington, DC
- Forestry USA.com
- IM Systems Group (IMSG) - includes marine and coastal management positions
- Maryland Environmental Services
- Maryland Geological Survey, Baltimore, MD
- Maryland State Jobs
- National Aquarium in Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
- National Audubon Society - national listings
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC
- Ocean Associates, Arlington, VA - oceans and fisheries consultants
- OceanCareers.com
- Ocean Leadership, Washington, DC
- Ocean Conservancy, Washington, DC
- Ornithology Exchange
- Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel/Bowie, MD
- Pherka.com - wildlife job search, organized by animal-type
- Smithsonian Institution
- Society for Conservation Biology
- Society for Ecological Restoration - Job Noticeboard
- Society for Freshwater Science - jobs & assistantships
- Society for Wetland Scientists
- Soils.org - Soil Science Society of America
- Texas A&M - Wildlife and Fisheries Science - nationwide
Law School and Public Policy
- Pre-Law advising - is available to all UM students at the Pre-Law Advising Office, 0110 Hornbake Library.
- Law School Admission Starts Here- Law School Admissions Council (LSAC)
- University of Maryland - Carey School of Law
- What are the MPA and MPP degrees?- from NASPAA
- MPA/MPP v. Law School - from PublicService.org
- University of Maryland - School of Public Policy
