I had a mind switch over the summer and want to go more into environmental consulting or environmental field. I have a couple questions.
First is Zoology with a minor in environmental and sustainability studies enough to get me into the field.
Second when and where is the best spot to start looking for internships or ways into the field.
Third I would love to do more endangered or threatened species aspect does anyone know of any companies that do that in the Michigan area/ if possible Grand Rapids area.
Thanks for any help anybody can give!

First of all, not sure if this is the best place to ask this. I tried to find a better sub-reddit but no luck.

TLDR:
How bad is my situation, by living next to a fuel station? Some details:

• Is a small local station
• Dispensers are 84 meters away
• Breathing valves are at 92 meters and 102 meters away
• Has stage 1 recovery system

I'm concerned with VOCs in the air and soil contamination, trying to assess what to do since I have a 3 year old son.

Longer version:

I live in a very small village in Portugal. Finding a house is very difficult, everything is quite old needing a lot of renovations. Because of that we bought a new project that was still being developed and gave us flexibility to customise. I has everything we wanted.

The area where we bought was developed in 2004/2005. The municipality created the infrastructure (electrical, water and gas connection, roads, etc). Prior to that people just used it privately mostly to grow vegetables.

Due the 2008 crash, things cooled down until recent years, and now lots of housing being built there. Prices are rising, have we waited a few more months and wouldn't have the money for it.

I completely missed the possible implications of have the fuel station near by. I'm not concerned with crime, noise, etc. I know the area, that is non-issue. My concern is primarily with contamination, both air and soil.

I have no idea when the initial station was built (i guess 90's). It was renovated and got a new operator in 2011. Not sure if they changed UST. I only know it has stage 1 vapour recovery system, since it is mandatory since 2005.

The more I read about this more confused I get. I don't have the know-how to make a proper risk assessment.

Air quality

How much of a risk are VOCs? I know Benzene is pretty bad, specially for children. House has outdoor space, and my kid plays a lot outside.

Also, we have a decentralized mechanical ventilation system that pulls fresh air from the outside and pushes saturated air from the inside out. It will eventually pull air with VOC (I know I can mitigate this with air purifier with activated carbon, or even adding activated carbon foam to the fan pull fresh air). Still, not sure how big of a risk this is.

We needed the ventilation system, since the house is well insulated, air doesn't circulate.

Soil contamination

I have read that all UST leak. So what are the chances of having contaminated soil? My kid plays outside on such soil, we were also planning to grow vegetables, now I don't know what to do. Soil was moved around during construction, so deeper layers could have been moved up and vice versa.

It could have heavy metals (like lead, which was only banned in 99 and i think the station operated before that).

Others

House has a drainage system and the drain well and sump pump are in the basement. If there is a plume, won't the contaminated water get to the drain well and gases released into my house?

Soil here is granite.

Worth to mention, since is a small place, other fuel stations are also close by:

- Biggest one, in size and sales, is 510m away

- Small/medium one is 210m away

- And then the small one I just mentioned.

Sorry for the long post, but the more I read more confused I get. I'm even considering selling the house. The problem is I can't get anything remotely close to this one.

I’m currently exploring the idea of a career pivot and am thinking environmental science could be an option?
I’m about 7 years into a career across food technology/food science, and I’m starting to look at what other science-based careers could suit me. Not interested in managing teams/sales, so do feel like I’ve hit the ceiling where I currently am.
I enjoy hands on/physical work, bench/lab work. I don’t mind semi-repetitive tasks. I don’t enjoy being in meetings all day.

For those working as environmental scientists (or in closely related roles):
What does a typical day/week actually look like?
How much of your work is fieldwork vs lab/office work?
What do you enjoy most about your job?
What do you dislike or find frustrating?
How repetitive or routine is the work?
What qualifications did you need to get into the field?
Would someone with a Food Science degree and several years of industry experience have any transferable skills?
Did you need to go back to university or do further study?
And I guess would you recommend the career?

I’d especially love to hear from people working in Australia, but I’d be interested in experiences from anywhere.
Thanks!

MSc Environmental Studies graduate looking for opportunities in India — Environmental/ESG/EIA/Forestry

Hi everyone,

I’m currently looking for entry-level opportunities in the environmental sector in India.

My background:

*MSc Ecology & Environmental Studies

*BSc (Hons) Forestry

*M.A Journalism and Mass Communications - IGNOU

*Internship experience with CESS

*Dissertation/research experience in Urban Heat Islands, GIS, Remote Sensing and Land Surface Temperature

*Experience with ArcGIS Pro, environmental research and spatial analysis

* Interested in EIA/ESIA, ESG, CSR, sustainability, climate change, carbon accounting, environmental consulting, GIS/remote sensing and forestry/wildlife conservation

Also interested in environmental communication/journalism

I’m looking for roles such as:

* Environmental Associate / Executive

* ESG / Sustainability Analyst

* EIA/ESIA Associate

* GIS/Remote Sensing Analyst

* Research Assistant

* Forestry/Wildlife/Conservation roles

* Environmental Consultant — entry level

I’m open to opportunities across India, including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and other locations.

If you know of any organizations hiring or have advice on where someone with this background should apply, I’d appreciate the leads.

I can share my CV and academic/research details through DM.

Thank you.

Hi all

Moving to Perth Western Australia in the near future and wondering what the job market is like for individuals in the environmental industry?

I have a law degree & masters in env science, two years private consulting and two and a half years in environmental policy for my national government. Would love to work in something more conservation / biodiversity focused.

Appreciate just any general insight or experience of working in this industry in Perth! Thanks

I want to learn ArcGIS and work in environmental data and I have so many questions on how to get started. Is it hard to learn? Is it worth learning or is that job market garbage? I have zero background in it, but I wanna add technical skills to my resume.

Hiya!
I'm not 100% sure if this is the right area to post and if not do guide me where I should go!

I'm looking to study BSc Environmental Science at uni in the UK.

In the UK we have an online website called UCAS where we write a personal statement.

It's divided down into 3 sections pertaining to:
1. why the candidate wants to study this course
2. how their studies have prepared them for the course
3. what else out the candidate has done outside of education and why those experiences are useful

I'm somewhat worried that the topics I want to talk about might be seen as odd?
I'm generally interested in waste... and I'm worried that it might sound like my interests are more applicable to global sustainability (another course offered at my dream uni but not a course I'd like to do)

I was just curious if I should shift my focus to another area of interest I have within the greater topic? It's just that I do find pollution quite intriguing and would wanna talk about that but I don't want to come off as if I haven't read any details of the course (don't worry I have and waste & society is a topic lol) but I just worry it's odd I'm not talking about climate change etc.

Any advice at all on what might be interesting to mention or talk about is appreciated!!!

I personally think that Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) should become the global standard for the forestry sector in the future. CCF will act as the foundation for broader forest bioeconomies once it becomes the global standard. Transitioning to sustainable forestry should start with a global transition from rotation forestry to CCF.

Do you agree with me? What do you have to say about CCF. Let's discuss in the comments.

Considering a move to Wilmington NC, which is known for its pfas contamination. I believe the city's water gets treated with activated carbon, and I also have a countertop RO filter I'd continue using for a little extra peace of mind.

But I'm curious if living in such an area would still put me at high risk of exposure (and, thus, higher risk of developing pfas-related diseases and illnesses compared to if I lived somewhere else) through alternate exposure pathways such as the soil, ocean, or air, even after the drinking water part of the equation is taken care of?

I'm chronically ill, so considered part of the "high-risk/ sensitive" group according to most exposure assessment guidelines, but I'm just having issues finding data on whether risk is still elevated once ingestion through drinking water is minimized

Anyone have Econ 101 lectures or past exams or advice to get an A grade??

Publication doi: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2026EF009294

Abstract: Earth scientists in fields like flood hazard analysis and environmental assessment make decisions that silently dictate public risk levels. Choices regarding model selection, data sufficiency, and uncertainty management form the epistemic core of public‐protective science. This rigorous process is systematically undermined by the realities of client‐funded science. Clients with financial stakes in favorable outcomes frequently commission these analyses. Broad regulatory discretion and weak public oversight leave the resulting methodologies largely unchecked. The burden of maintaining epistemic integrity falls disproportionately on individual, often junior, earth scientists. These practitioners lack the structural power to resist when rigorous methods yield results inconvenient to their employers. We argue this dynamic represents a failure of institutional design rather than individual ethics. Drawing on professional case studies in nuclear flood hazards and municipal water planning, we identify a mechanism by which structural duress can displace onto the public a risk it has no opportunity to know or contest. To remedy this, we propose collective bargaining as a vital tool to protect scientific integrity and the public. Finally, we outline how senior academics can support these efforts by teaching collective action alongside traditional technical skills.

I'm a A-levels graduate from nepal and i want to study sustainibility engineering at WSU. Before finalizing and applying I wanted to ask a few questions , i Hope you guys can help me and give me some advice .

1. what's the job market like for this degree in sydney/ australia in general ?
2. will i be able to work part time while studying sustainibility engineering and cover my tuition for my next years ?
3. are the careers leading after i graduate AI proof and has a safe job security ? and after i gradaute where can i work ? is this a PR leading course ?

I REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS CAN HELP ME. I'M REALLY STRESSED OUT.

I originally entered environmental consulting as a GIS intern (1099 contractor) while in school for GIS (planned on going GIS and then Env. science) 5 years ago. After doing that for about 6 months, I was offered a full time assistant PM position doing GIS, CAD, data tab, etc. After doing that for a little over a year, they started to give me progressively more difficult projects to manage on my own. Current workload is assessment and remediation focused.

Somewhere in there, I decided to drop out of school because I was paying for classes to get a degree to land a job I now already had. Well 5 years later, I've reached a plateau in my career and the only way to advance is to get a bachelors degree. Just to be clear, my employer is aware of my current situation.

I've since had a kid and started a family, and uprooting them to move and go to school elsewhere isn't really an option. The nearest University to me does not have great options for majors. My options boil down to the following:

-Fully online, EAC/ABET accredited B.S. in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University (EXPENSIVE) (P.E. eligible)

-Fully online B.A. in Geology from University of Florida (cheaper, can get in state tuition) (P.G. eligible)

-B.S. in Environmental Management from my local university

-A non natural science degree to complement the experience I already have (like Finance/Accounting or pursue an MBA)

What path would y'all pursue and why? Is there another, better option that I'm not already considering?

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09-coal-powered-economic-growth-linked.html