Green jobs for graduates
Starting your career in the future economy - Expert advice
Want to build a net zero carbon world with your career?
Wondering if you have the right skills? The right degree? The right connections?
Green industry experts gave Cambridge students a tour of careers in the environment during a two-week Green Careers Festival, including how to land a green job.
Almost 800 students attended the 21 events at the Festival, created by Cambridge Zero and the Careers Service. Festival-goers explored sustainable careers in architecture, healthcare, agriculture, investment, consultancy and policy, as well as using AI for the environment sector, and thinking critically about employers.
Read on to discover the key tips offered by the experts at the Festival for finding a job in the green sector.
Image credit: Cambridge Climate Society
Image credit: Cambridge Climate Society
Image credit: Cambridge Climate Society
Image credit: Cambridge Climate Society
The right skills?
"As an architect, I feel privileged to be a practitioner at this time...there's so much to do!" said Patrick Usborne at the Greening the Built Environment panel.
Usborne is a director of Perpendicular Architecture, which uses new technology and organic materials such as straw, cork and bamboo to reduce the environmental impact of buildings and spaces.
But how do you land a green job as an architect? As an engineer?
Communication skills was top of the list.
“You need to be a good communicator, good with people, and potentially good at negotiating, diplomacy, management, ” said Henrietta Hunter, Senior Consultant at SB+CO and chair of the Sustainable Consulting without STEM panel.
Take initiative to build specific skills.
Oliver Rubinstein, a Customer Success Manager at sustainable agriculture firm, Trinity Agtech, spoke about making food systems more sustainable.
"Focus on anything to do with data and data science, even if it's just Microsoft Excel coding or GIS (Geographic Information System)," Rubinstein said, adding that practical experience to build skills could include volunteering on organic farms.
Be creative!
“We need really outside of the box thinking to solve the problems within organisations and within society,” Ben Barrett, Sustainability Consultant for the International Olympic Committee, told a panel on sustainable consulting without STEM.
Learn on the job and have passion for your work.
“There’s loads of potential jobs…build up skills in jobs, on the jobs,” said Vanessa Sturman, Transformation Health Coach. "Passion and fire to help people, planet and animal."
Hunter said some key attributes employers are seeking are curiosity and an aptitude to digest complex concepts and pieces of information.
“You have to be curious…but the rest you get taught.”
The right degree?
The path into climate and sustainability from STEM is well-trodden. For example, a degree in Zoology can provide you with training in plant identification and surveying which are useful skills for a career in conservation.
To celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11), two of our research academics spoke on how they're using STEM to tackle global challenges from climate-resilient food security to green energy battery research. You can read their stories here.
Are you a student with a non-STEM background and a passion for the environment?
"You don’t have to have a degree in environmental sciences," said Liz Robinson, Land and Water Team Leader at the Environment Agency (EA), at the Green Careers Fair.
Hear what industry experts at the Green Careers Fair had to say about finding a green job without a degree in STEM in our previous story here:
Image credit: Beth Simpson, Cambridge Zero
Image credit: Beth Simpson, Cambridge Zero
Image credit: Cambridge Judge Business School
Image credit: Cambridge Judge Business School
Image credit: Cambridge Judge Business School
Image credit: Cambridge Judge Business School
The right connections?
How do you find people who can help you out, provide some tried-and-tested advice, and connect you to the right people?
Find a mentor!
Finding a mentor was often noted as one of the best things you can do for your career. But how do you find a mentor?
Taylor Foody, Social Value Project Manager at Social Value Portal, said students should reach out to people on LinkedIn, ask for coffee chats, ask questions.
"Ask questions that will get you to the place that you'd like to be," said Dr Ronita Bardhan, academic specialist in sustainable urban design.
At the Green Careers Fair, AECOM Graduate Consultant Lizzy Dray encouraged students to unearth opportunities by seeking out events and people of interest.
“Come to things like this and speak to people, find out what they do day-to-day," said Lizzy Dray.
Perhaps one of these industry experts could be your first mentor in finding a green career? Panellists encouraged students to reach out and stay in touch, and you can explore the list of attending industry experts via the Green Careers Festival programme.
So, what's next?
If you're an early undergraduate, or five years into industry, it's never too late to experiment with your career path.
“If you’re thinking about whether you should explore? You should," said Foody, who encouraged students to be persistent and keep an open mind about the direction of their career paths.
Hunter said she didn’t really think about jobs until she left her degree and has since had about four or five mini-careers.
"You don’t have to have it all figured out immediately,” she said.
The Green Careers Festival 2024 ran across January 29th until February 9th, run by the University's Careers Service in collaboration with Cambridge Zero.
If you're still wondering about how to best prepare for a green career, check out our story on Cambridge Zero's career-focused lent term card below:
Additionally, check out the Careers Service's environmental careers webpage for further information and guidance.
Interested students can keep up to date with these and other opportunities with Cambridge Zero via our student mailing list.
Published 21 February 2024
Images: Ellie Austin, Cambridge Zero, unless otherwise stated.
The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Read more Green Careers stories here
Butterflies, Bees and Broader Horizons
Cambridge Zero Programme Shapes Future Climate Leaders
Green jobs not just for STEM Grads
Green jobs fair tackles myths & misconceptions of climate change careers
Is a green career for you?
Lent Term: Cambridge Zero offers a careers festival, a climate innovation challenge, free climate training and paid summer positions
Cambridge Zero is the University of Cambridge’s ambitious climate change initiative, harnessing the power of research to tackle climate change at one of the top global research universities in the world.
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