Eco-Career Wayfinding

Photo credit: Algalita.

Your mission

Explore various eco-career pathways and interview someone who is in your field of interest.

Time Commitment: 2 Hours

Range of Impact: Home, and Global

Why this Action is impactful

In order to address the environmental challenges we face today, we need people working within almost every sector. There are many opportunities for pursuing an eco-career, some which aren’t so obvious!

What to know before getting started

Whether you’re interested in science, engineering, the arts, entertainment, hospitality, politics, education, or health care, there is the potential to address environmental challenges through your job, career, or profession.  Not only are there opportunities to make positive impact, but the only way we’ll make true progress is by changing industries, governments, and culture from the inside out, by taking an environmental approach to any career we are in.  

This Action aims to reveal the types of jobs that exist, at least in most parts of the world, and how they can be viewed through an environmental lens. Whether you are a young student just beginning to explore career options, or whether you are looking for a career switch, we hope this resource will be helpful.  

The second part of this Action involves conducting an interview with someone who is in a role that sounds interesting to you. Speaking with someone is the most effective way to gain insight into what working in a certain job, career, or environmental topic is like. 

What to do

1. Read through our Eco-Career Wayfinding Slide Deck where we outline the many pathways and opportunities in environmentally focused work. You can follow along with our recorded Eco-Career Wayfinding Zoom Presentation too. We’ve outlined the range of possibilities by breaking it down into 3 levels: the environmental topic, the sector, and the role.  
2. Use the Eco-Career Wayfinding Discovery Worksheet to reflect on your interests and prepare for an interview with someone in your role of interest.
3. Conduct an interview with 1 of the people you’ve identified.
4. Record your take-aways from the interview you’ve conducted. You can earn Hours for this Action by completing the form below.

Tips and suggestions

• This Action is an exercise in exploring the different types of careers that exist within environmental fields. This Action can be used by anyone at any phase of their schooling or career.
• Any job can be an eco-job. Do you know of, or did you find out about, an eco-career that we didn’t include? Add it to your worksheet. 
• Interview tips:
  • Don’t get discouraged if you contact someone to interview and you don’t get a response. There are thousands of people out there doing great work; simply find another person to speak with.
  • Phone call interviews are easier for interviewees than email response interviews.
  • If you record the conversation, be sure to ask for the interviewee’s permission first.
  • Be respectful – Call on time and move quickly through your questions.

Track your contribution

To submit your work and get recognized for your contribution to the movement, complete the form below. If we approve your submission, you’ll be awarded 2 Action Hours.

Create an account or login to track your progress.

Do another Action

Check out our other Actions that build off of this one!