Environmental education and training

There is a greater demand for education professionals in this area and a growing number of university courses. Many environmental organisations now employ an education officer to raise the organisation’s profile and to educate the general public and visiting children about the work that is carried out.

How to get into environmental education

If you are struggling to decide whether to put your caring nature to good use by helping children or animals, then environmental education could be your ideal area of work. A role as an education officer is a popular career choice among trained teachers who wish to get out of the classroom. Education officers are typically employed by zoos and wildlife parks as well as local nature trusts.

A PGCE will help you to land a position but is not essential, although you will be required to have some experience of working with children and will need to undergo a criminal record (CRB) check.  As a graduate, you will usually be required to have studied a relevant degree such as geography or environmental science or to have a substantial amount of practical experience.

How much can I earn in environmental education?

Positions are often with charities or not-for-profit organisations and starting salaries are between £13,000 and £17,000.  As a project manager you can expect £20,000-£25,000 and as an overall manager of environmental strategies for such an organisation you could earn £28,000- £32,000.

How to build up your CV in your spare time

In many areas, there are opportunities for environmental educators to be employed on an ad hoc basis to work with groups of children or youths attending after-school clubs. These are difficult to find as they are part-time roles and so are usually filled on a voluntary or freelance basis. This hourly basis is also true of traditional door-to-door roles to educate the general public and to recruit members to regional trusts or raise funds for local projects.