Awareness of climate change and global warming has increased the demand for jobs that help the Earth fight back. We listed down the most popular of these kinds of jobs here.
The rise of global temperatures, along with the spread of forest fires, floods, and other extreme weather events, has brought a higher demand for professions that fight climate change.
For example, employment in the renewables sector in the US has increased by 300% in the past four years.
Still, you don’t have to be an environmental scientist to help fight climate change. Climate change affects us all, from the food we eat and the clothes we wear to keeping us warm or cool.
So, if you’re looking for a climate change job, there are many different paths to go. Check out our most popular picks of high-level, mid-level, and entry-level jobs below.
The 21 Best Climate Change Jobs
1. Urban Grower
Even if you live in a city, you can turn your flat roof into an apple orchard or a small tomato plantation.
Green roof gardening can be a part-time job that needs no special qualification, but minimal experience in gardening is welcome.
When you develop your rooftop garden, you can become a supplier of locally sourced vegetables to markets and eco-conscious food businesses.
This is a great idea if you have a green thumb!
2. Public Green Space Maintenance Professional
This job includes everything from clearing the paths in public parks after a storm to botanic surveys of all plants in a specific area.
Some of these professions are entry-level, while for others, employers require a technical college diploma or specialized company-provided training.
3. Administrative Support Worker
Administrative support is an essential, yet often invisible job in every company.
With climate change and sustainability becoming higher priorities, the job of administrative workers may shift from traditional clerical duties to involve more work with large-scale environmental data collection, grassroots organizing, and communication.
4. Brownfield Restorer
There are over 450,000 brownfield properties in the United States. In this job you’ll be charged with safely assessing, cleaning, and redeveloping brownfield sites that range from large former factories to abandoned gas stations.
This field of work supports job seekers with administrative experience, technical experts, and manual labor jobs.
5. Invasive Species Controller
If you hold a degree in biology or just love nature and being outdoors, you may find a job in a government agency or private company that tries to control the spread of invasive species that pose a threat to naturally occurring wildlife.
In this job, you may assist in different farm operations activities or work with a national park team of rangers.
6. Energy Auditor
As an energy auditor, you’ll be in charge of the official inspection and assessment of the energy that homes or commercial buildings are using.
In their job, energy auditors use equipment such as blower doors, to measure the airtightness of different rooms, and infrared cameras to detect areas around doors and windows where heat is escaping.
7. Weatherization Expert
After an energy auditor inspects the building, a weatherization expert may be called in to recommend and perform energy-efficiency improvements, like reducing air leaks, improving ventilation, controlling moisture, or building a sunlight or wind barrier.
This job typically requires you to complete a training program at a technical school or with the employer.
If you want to know more about what a weatherization expert does, here's a great video for that.
8. Pedestrian And Bike Lane Construction Consultant
As government officials pledge to reduce carbon footprint, there will be an increased investor demand for city planners, transportation engineers, and construction workers who will be needed to develop new pedestrian and bike lanes, especially where public transport is not available.
If you are a job seeker with experience in urban planning, transportation, or public space construction, this might be a job for you.
9. Renewable Energy Installer
If the Green New Deal is adopted, by 2030 all energy consumption will come from clean, renewable, and zero-emission sources.
This means that employers, but also engineers and technicians with experience in solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal energy installations will soon be in high demand.
Because of this demand, this job is one of the best paying jobs in energy in the US.
10. Community Educator
The job of a community educator is to help fight climate change by providing communities the necessary information and know-how to start fighting climate change from their backyards.
You can find a job with diverse employers such as schools, government agencies, human rights groups, and other local institutions or lead workshops and other training events. This might become a long-term job for applicants with a bachelor’s degree.
Environmental people sometimes focus only on the final outcome of their work, but job seekers may be better served by paying attention to daily activities. What do you want to actually do all day? Do you want to write, organize, research, do scientific data gathering, or something else? Think in terms of verbs and you’ll know a lot about whether you’ll be competitive for a job.
Kevin Doyle, Environmental Career Coach at the Green Career Advisor
11. Disaster Preparedness Trainer
As a disaster preparedness professional, your job will be to help the government, communities, and other public safety workers respond to emergencies quickly and efficiently.
Coordinating disaster preparedness efforts doesn't only apply to weather because climate change is also related to more long-lasting natural disasters, such as disease epidemics.
Find job offers in disaster preparedness and mitigation here.
12. Waste Removal And Recycling Professional
China has stopped importing several key American recyclables, so businesses that specialize in collecting, sorting, processing, and recycling waste may get an opportunity they won’t want to miss.
This lucrative industry might be interesting for job seekers with an environmental degree but also high school diplomas.
13. Sustainability Consultant
It’s the job of sustainability consultants to advise businesses and organizations on how to strengthen their environmental sustainability and make climate change programs a central part of their operations.
You may also provide specialist scenario analysis support for investors, or synthesize and communicate market drivers for sustainability topics. For a sustainability consultant job, you need a bachelor’s degree in business or sustainability.
14. Power Grid Modernization Expert
This job type includes working in programs to update the existing electrical grid so that new renewable energy sources can be effectively distributed across the country.
These types of renewable energy jobs are an excellent opportunity for job seekers with an electrical engineering degree and technical college diplomas, although communications and marketing experts are also vital to make these changes happen.
15. Environmental Lawyer
These attorneys have full-time jobs with law firms that insist on sustainability, renewable energy, and climate change. They can also work for government agencies or advocacy organizations.
Your job, for example, can be to challenge businesses that break certain sustainability regulations.
To join a team of environmental lawyers, you’ll need a Juris Doctor degree from a law school and to pass your state’s bar examination.
If you need more reasons on why you should apply to be an environmental attorney, watch this inspiring talk by Femke Wijdekop, Earth Lawyer at the Institute for Environmental Security and End Ecocide.
16. Environmental Engineer
If you see yourself coming up with real-world solutions to problems caused by climate change, then you should pursue an environmental engineer position.
These professionals are developing sustainable projects, such as zero-carbon buildings, decarbonization strategies, and water-efficient systems.
To become one, you need a bachelor’s degree in environmental, civil, or chemical engineering.
17. Environmental Scientist
Environmental scientists deal with the scientific aspect of the climate crisis, researching how it affects the Earth.
They usually have a specialty job, such as monitoring the rising temperature effect on the ocean or hope greenhouse gas emissions affect air quality.
For these careers, you need at least a bachelor’s degree.
18. Conservation Scientist
Conservation scientists protect the planet’s natural resources by evaluating the quality of water and soil or making sure the foresting activity follows the state law.
These scientists have an important role in suppressing wildfires and assessing fire damage.
For this career path, you need a bachelor’s degree in forestry, environmental, or agricultural science.
19. Geoscientist
Geoscientists are Earth specialists who study all of the different elements of Earth and how climate change affects them.
A job seeker in this field of work can find a position at universities and research institutes, but at least a bachelor’s degree is required, usually in geoscience or environmental science.
20. Climatologist
Climatologists study long-term weather patterns as well as the effect of carbon emission on climate risks. People with these careers typically work for government agencies or research institutes.
To join this team of experts on climate, you need at least a bachelor’s degree, or even a master’s degree, if you’re primarily focusing on research.
21. Renewable Energy Scientist
Renewable energy scientists research energy sources that don't add to climate change, such as wind, water, solar, and geothermal heat.
These highly-educated professionals strive to make renewable energy more efficient, and more available to people.
To become a renewable energy scientist, you need a graduate degree and find a company that will sponsor your research.
FAQ
The companies that are fighting climate change include Alphabet, Inc., Maersk, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, and China Mobile, among others. They are just some of the ones that are making efforts to reduce their carbon emissions and plan their partnerships on the same basis.
The job that you can do to save the planet can include growing vegetables locally, insulating homes and buildings for higher energy-efficiency, installing solar panels and equipment, working at a recycling facility, or earning a degree in engineering or environmental sciences and starting your research or educating others.
Environmental jobs that are in demand are environmental engineers, environmental lawyers, urban planners, conservation scientists and renewable energy installers. The best cities to find an environmental job in the US are San Francisco, Houston, and New York City.
To combat global warming, corporations are reducing energy consumption and waste, investing in deploying all-electric fleets and charging infrastructure, entering sustainable partnerships, and raising environmental awareness among employees, clients, and either stakeholder.
To save the environment, engineers can find more efficient ways to harness energy from renewable sources and make buildings less energy-dependent. They treat and distribute drinking water, and collect, treat, and dispose of wastewater. They also control air pollution management and solid-waste disposal and recycling.
Conclusion
Employment in the field of climate change offers diverse opportunities for a wide combination of skills and education levels.
While some of the jobs listed here are entry-level or require a high-school diploma, for others you need a bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering or environmental sciences.
To get the best chance for finding climate change jobs that match your interests and skills, check out our Green Jobs Board now. Just type in the keyword and set your location, and our job finder will list the best climate change employment opportunities for you for free.
Want to find jobs by category, by city, or by state? Look for more sustainability jobs here.
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