Becoming a graduate green-collar worker
Environmental careers no longer have to be a labour of love. Green-collar jobs belong to the booming area of energy efficiency and the term labels the roles that pay a substantial salary. Competition for these new-look jobs is fierce as they are open to graduates from a variety of degree disciplines.
Green-collar graduate careers: facts and figures
80,000 green-collar jobs are predicted across Europe by 2030, with 16,000 of these at UK off-shore wind farms by 2010. If you are an undergraduate in any of the design or engineering subjects, you may want to jump on the band wagon.
This is a lucrative path to pursue if you have the skills to design, manufacture, install, operate, or maintain renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. Graduate engineering salaries are in line with other engineering specialisms at around £23,000-£28,000. As a principal engineer 5-10 years up the career ladder you could earn in excess of £40,000.
Traditional environmental careers: remuneration and progression
The traditional environmental employers (such as wildlife and nature trusts) continue to be demanding of new recruits. This is a popular entry-level choice amongst geography and ecology graduates. It is common for a research role requiring a PhD in environmental science, biology, or ecology to pay just £25,000. A role that demands a specific skill (such as familiarity with mapping programmes) will shell out about £14,000. Gain solid voluntary experience at uni and you will have a degree and experience for a higher salary upon graduation.
Career progression in traditional roles remains slow yet steady. You can expect to start on £9,000 to £15,000 as an assistant officer at a trust, go up a rung to officer level and earn around £19,000 to £23,000, and bring in £30,000 as a manager.
Green-collar versus traditional graduate environmental roles
For a well-paid traditional role in an area such as conservation or ecology, you’ll need to live on a student budget to afford postgraduate study before starting out. If you want to fast-track your pay packet, apply for a green-collar role. Design, engineering, and science degrees are desirable for these roles, but specialist degrees such as hydrology and hazard management are also considered.
There are countless graduate roles that fall under the environmental umbrella, that are difficult to categorise as either 'green-collar' or 'traditional'. Some of the most popular are in the fields of environmental consultancy, open spaces and environmental education.
