Environmental
Jobs
Deciding what
is, or isn't, Environmental Jobs is no easy task. Many career guides
don't include a category for Environmental Jobs. Those guides that
do list Environmental Jobs often include some types of jobs but not
others. It's no wonder, then, that determining whether a job is
environmental or not can be difficult.
The common
thread for all Environmental Jobs is that their principal function
is to protect the environment -- air, water, land, and living
resources. This can be done in lots of ways. Preventing pollution,
restoring wetlands, or developing innovative energy policies are
just a few of the hundreds of ways that folks across America, and the world,
work to protect the environment. Infect Environmental Jobs contain a
vast portfolio of services and differ in area of operation, salary
packages, complexities involved and employer (which is generally the
government) expectations.
Some 80,000
private companies comprise the environmental industry in the
United
States. These companies specialize
in environmental technologies, products, services, or information
related to a wide range of environmental issues such as air quality,
water pollution, hazardous waste, industrial hygiene, pollution
prevention, energy efficiency and alternative agriculture, among
others. Environmental Jobs are also found in quasi private companies
such as electric utilities and
hospitals.
No one really
knows how many Environmental Jobs there are in the United
States. Environmental occupations
do not fit neatly into the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
code system as well as other well known economic classifications,
making it difficult to rely on federal and state labor statistics.
Environmental employment includes an incredibly broad range of
activity that cuts across many traditional manufacturing and service
sectors making classification difficult. As of yet, there is no
standard classification scheme for environmental employment, though
several have been developed. Further, environmental principles are
being woven into employment of all kinds, blurring the lines between
what are, or aren't, Environmental Jobs. Despite such difficulties,
estimates of U.S. environmental
employment do exist. Environmental organizations and economic
research groups generate such estimates. Though these figures are
the most accurate we have, most are educated guesses at best.
The number of
Environmental Jobs in the U.S. are thought to be
between one and 4.5 million, with most estimates falling around the
two million mark. Whatever the actual number, environmental
employment represents a sizable share of total U.S. employment, between
1% and 3%. More folks work in environmental occupations than in
motor vehicle and aerospace manufacturing combined. For every one
worker in the software industry, there are two environmental workers
and for every one worker in the biotechnology industry, there are
ten environmental workers. So Environmental Jobs are
everywhere.
The growth of
Environmental Jobs have slowed since the late 1980's and early
1990's when growing awareness and concern about global environmental
issues fueled the creation of thousands of new environmental
positions across the country. Though growth is more modest, a
significant number of people are working in new environmental
positions every day and Environmental Jobs are getting popular day
by day.
