What other courses would be suitable additions to someone studying Env Science?

magma69

I just finished second year of Environmental Science and am thinking of doing a related course this Summer, be it full time, evening or online. I think it will give my cv a little bit of an edge when I graduate.

What would you recommend?

boru05

FWIW, I'm an environmental consultant and I see a good few CV's of env. sci.'s. It largely depends on what area(s) you plan to work. If you plan to work in lab/industry then perhaps a relevant internship might be more valuable. If you plan to work in ecological fields then perhaps detailed identification courses (invertebrates, plants etc.) might be valuable. There are a number of courses run regularly by various groups - inc. the National Biodiversity Data Centre and universities which may be of interest.

From my point of view, you need to distinguish yourself from the crowd of both your current peers and existing graduates whom are saturating the market. Internships/job experience would probably be of most interest to me personally.

Hope this helps!

splish

boru05 wrote: »

From my point of view, you need to distinguish yourself from the crowd of both your current peers and existing graduates whom are saturating the market. Internships/job experience would probably be of most interest to me personally.

Thats easier said than done. I have first class honours in both my BSc and MSc degree but have limited work experience (a summer placement with the EPA in 2008 and assisting with some waste characterisation studies with RPS). Im finding it increasingly frustrating trying to further my work experience whether with paid or unpaid work.

boru05

splish wrote: »

Thats easier said than done. I have first class honours in both my BSc and MSc degree but have limited work experience (a summer placement with the EPA in 2008 and assisting with some waste characterisation studies with RPS).

Your situation is slightly different to the OP who is a 2nd/3rd year undergraduate, to equate the two isn't correct.

Your general point though is quite fair and isn't just limited to our discipline. I see an awful lot of graduates who try desperately to get a job in their chosen field for 6-8 months and, failing to secure a job/internship/experience, then default into some class of postgraduate education, sold by the providers as making you more "employable". The student then feels like their investing in their future, when the real winner is the establishment to whom you just wrote the cheque. Failing that - off to Oz, NZ or Canada.

Since the moratorium on public sector recruitment, the employment landscape for env. sci. graduates has changed dramatically. It's not just a case of "no jobs with the EPA" but a huge employer would have been local authorities who are also not employing. Furthermore, the radical downsizing of a lot of the larger consulting engineering houses (with the lack of large infrastructural projects) has meant the traditional third employer is also gone/much smaller. All that are really left are specialist/expert consultancies who are generally small (especially with the recent folding of WYG). In recent years there seems to be a move for retraining/re-educating env. sci. into the field of EHS which is different again.

I take the view of seeing env. sci. sort of like civil or process engineering. If you look at the senior/older/experienced env. consultants and civil/process engineers a lot of the best ones in Ireland and the UK have done relevant stints abroad be it Germany, USA etc. I don't think it's the same as a working holiday visa to NZ, Oz or Canada that our generation seem to focusing on though.

/rant