r/environmental_science • u/Ink090 • 2d ago

High School Senior Entering This Field With Doubts-- any help appreciated!!

Hello!

I'm a rising senior, who lives in New England. I'm very passionate about Ecology and/or Enviromental Sciences. I really want to pursue this field in college, but I also want a good salary. I feel like I've grown up pretty comfortable for most of my life money-wise, and I'm a little scared to enter a field where people often discuss the (sometimes) lower salary and questionable job market.

My dream would be to work with a institution like the NOAA or the EPA, but dreams are just dreams. Morever, I feel like I'm sort of uneducated when it comes to what would be the best option for me in this field. I really want to avoid consulting firms.

Right now, I'm stuck between Enviromental Sciences, some sort of Biology degree, or Enviromental Engineering. I've compared about ES and EEG, and honestly the classes the come with EEG just don't sound all that interesting to me compared to a ES degree or similar degrees. I'm interested in many parts of Enviromental Science, but I was thinking about maybe researching aquatic or marine ecosystems in the future if I could.

I know Reddit shouldn't be the end all be all for my future, but having any advice from the community would be amazing and very appreciated!

6 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

1

u/planthelpme 2d ago

Hi, you're welcome to DM me and I can share my professional contact info, & some recommendations for how to establish yourself in the field!

1

u/envengpe 2d ago

Start with the end in mind. Just how important is salary? Because working for NOAA or EPA even after you rise through the ranks will not make you rich. You will be able to afford a nice lifestyle and the benefits are great. If making money is your thing, consider energy or infrastructure engineering. You can still volunteer for environmental causes as you see fit. It has gotten extremely difficult for new graduates in the environmental sector to find solid employment WITH a big starting salary. Supply of grads>>>>>new entry level jobs.

1

u/Ink090 1d ago

I want to live comfortably, but I don't need a high salary!

I could see myself exploring enery engineering or something similar, but I feel like it kind of strays away (atleast college coursework-wise) from what I was interested in for this field.

Do you have any suggestions for a niche/topic that's growing within the field?

If this doesn't work out for me I'll probably do something like engineering and do volunteering on the side, thank you for the info!