Careers & Alumni
Each student’s career path depends greatly on individual student’s interests, skills, and values. A degree in environmental studies can lead to a career in science, policy, education, government, advocacy, and more. Opportunities might include:
- Conservation officer
- Environmental attorney
- Environmental education & outreach specialist
- Environmental journalist
- Environmental policy analyst
- Environmental program manager
- Environmental specialist
- Park ranger
- Policy Advisor
- Program coordinator
- Regulatory specialist
- Resource management specialist
- Sustainability specialist
- Sustainability program manager
Exclusive Job & Internship Resources
Handshake is an exclusive job and internship database for ECU students and alumni.Access both on and off campus job and internship opportunities, upload various documents, sign up for on campus interviews and special events.
For additional information about writing resumés and cover letters, information about job fairs, interview preparation, and more, please visit the Career Services website.
Alumni Profiles
As a field scientist, my job has me working with clients and land-owners as a consultant through field work and reports. I primarily work on delineating wetlands and conducting assessments for threatened and endangered species, but I often find myself doing work in many different fields. Just recently, I found myself working on a noise assessment report for a new apartment building, taking GPS points in the middle of a busy highway, putting signs in the ground for conservation areas, and surveying for gopher tortoises!
One of my favorite parts of this job is just how much I get to do. I work on unique projects all the time, visit different sites, work in many disciplines, talk to numerous clients, and every day I end up learning something new. It’s also great to work at a company like Terracon. I have a knowledgeable network of coworkers, supportive management, and we are employee-owned. And it’s always a big bonus to work outside! ECU and the environmental studies major have been instrumental in getting this job and have helped me at work every day. The ENVS major exposed me to many environmental disciplines and helped me find my career interests. Some of the classes I took, and the Semester at the Coast experience, introduced me to wetlands and careers in the environmental field! The ECU program provided first hand experience of field and lab work, project management, and real world job skills.
Lily Baker
Planetarium Outreach Specialist
NC Museum of Natural Science at Contentea Creek
Grifton, NC
My job mostly includes teaching kids about space and the environment. We also do field trips, birthday parties, and all kinds of educational activities for kids of multiple age ranges. I am so thankful for my time at ECU as it taught me how to adapt to tough situations but prioritize what makes me happy. Now I am able to do my dream job everyday by sharing my love for the environment with kids from all over NC. I am so thankful for the opportunity to see all their smiling faces as I teach them how to interact with and understand the world around them. If I had to give someone currently in school any advice it would be to listen to your heart, I know it sounds cliche but I started as a business management major. Once I stopped listening to what others told me I should do because I would “make more money” or “be more successful” I found true happiness in what I was doing. Switching to Environmental Studies really opened my eyes and helped me become the scientist and educator I am!
My academic background is rooted in geography and GIS analysis, integrated with environmental studies to form an interdisciplinary approach. My work focuses on analyzing urban change over time using GIS and related software. I also worked as a GIS center assistant and held a graduate teaching assistantship throughout my degree. I enjoy the endless possibilities for learning through GIS and other software that deepen our understanding of human-environment relationships. My time as a graduate teaching assistant was also rewarding. It allowed me to develop new skills from the different courses within the department, training both undergraduate and graduate students and growing alongside them.
ECU provided me with strong technical and interdisciplinary skills across environmental studies and geography, equipping me for a range of professional roles. My experience includes public speaking from presentations, writing through various projects, teamwork on collaborative assignments, and analytical skills from multiple software used for assignments. My degree path also opened doors to internship opportunities with agencies such as the Pitt County Planning Department and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Membership in Gamma Theta Upsilon International Geographical Honor Society offered valuable networking and scholarship opportunities, and my volunteer work with the North Carolina Estuary non-profit honed my public speaking and deepened my foundation in environmental studies. Courses in fields such as geography biology, sociology, planning, statistics, programming, and GIS were essential to my success.