Environmental jobs aren't limited to the science lab or the recycling plant. These days, the buzzwords for eco-careers are interdisciplinary, integrated, cross-sectoral, hybrid. And the industry is booming as Canadian governments, companies and citizens become more responsive to environmental issues.
"I call it the Swiss Army knife approach to environmental careers," says Rick Searle, a University of Victoria teacher, communications expert and environmental entrepreneur.
"You don't have to have a science background to work in the environmental field. You need a rudimentary understanding so you know what questions to ask, but if your inclination isn't toward the technical aspect, you don't need to be intimidated," Mr. Searles says. "There's lots of opportunity to work in policy areas, public engagement, media and more."
Consider articling law student Kaitlyn Mitchell, who earned her undergraduate degree in religious and justice studies.
Now 24, she's on course for a career in public interest environmental law. Yet until the second year of her law studies at Dalhousie University, she says she "wasn't even aware that environmental law was a practice area. I had no science background and hadn't taken any courses at the undergraduate level."
Armed with a law degree including courses for a specialization in marine and environmental law, Ms. Mitchell landed an articling placement at the Canadian Environmental Law Association in Toronto, working with lawyers and environmental experts on staff. "Most areas of law have a technical component," she notes, "and we do rely on experts."
In other words, you don't have to know everything about technical sciences to forge an environmental career, but you do need to be a good communicator and work effectively in teams.
"Integration is the buzzword," agrees Todd Latham, who has been part of the environment industry for 20 years. Currently publisher of two Toronto-based environmental magazines (Canadian Water Treatment and ReNew Canada), he describes himself as a "hybrid" in terms of his career path.
The environment needs people who are passionate, Mr. Latham says, and this includes journalists, marketing experts, economists, builders, lawyers and accountants, as well as those with technical, scientific skills.
"The opportunities in environmental careers are exploding," says Grant Trump, president of the Calgary-based Environmental Careers Organization of Canada. "Demand is outstripping supply and it's affecting industry's ability to meet the environmental challenge.
"Right now, there are 530,000 jobs in Canada related to the environment, and we are projecting job growth over the next five years to increase by 8.8 per cent. This represents a rate that is 24-per-cent faster than the overall Canadian employment increase," Mr. Trump says.
Environmental jobs have moved far beyond stereotypical science-based positions, such as counting tree rings, taking soil samples, doing conservation work or cleaning up contaminants and waste. The growing emphasis is on cross-industry skills and experience.
Most people working in eco-careers shrug off narrow definitions of what constitutes environmental work. "The environment is everyone — and it's our home," explains Jonathan Cheszes, a 30-year-old York University student in the masters of environmental studies program.
Mr. Cheszes's story exemplifies the circuitous path many environmental careers take. He graduated eight years ago from McGill University with a business degree and went to work in the jewellery business. Finding it lacked a sense of fulfilment, he began attending a social networking group called Green Drinks (its members meet in pubs) that attracts an eclectic group of environmental enthusiasts, from amateurs to experts.
Kate Holloway was one of those enthusiasts. After being downsized from a dot-com position, she found a passion for environmental issues and turned it into a new career. At 39 she heads a small non-profit organization that is working with Mr. Cheszes and other students from the York Sustainable Enterprise Consultancy (a hybrid of post-graduate students in environmental studies and the MBA business program).
