There are so many systems in place which maintain the Earth in which we live. Although humans are the best at destroying what we call home, there is a role that many take on in order to make sure that future generations can inhabit the Earth. With a subject made up of a variety of subsystems such as physics, geography, chemistry, and much more, environmental science is such a diverse career.  

A job containing a toolbox of skills and knowledge, environmental science demands knowledge of natural Earth systems as well as the manufactured systems society has put in place to control these procedures and maintain them. Imagine for a moment, if all the wastewater systems were lost of all workers and all production in the world. If this were to happen for over a week, eutrophication, or the excess of nutrients in a body of water, would kill all the fish in nearby streams, and run down into the ocean. There would be no filtered water, no way to dispose of human waste or to maintain agriculture. Our society would fail without the unseen heroes that keep structures such as this maintained, and they truly are heroes of our society. Environmental science as a career can consist of wastewater management, air pollution analysts, agricultural engineers, chemists, biologists, soil scientists, oceanographers, and many more diverse and far apart subjects which make up this unique and vital career.  

It took me until my junior year of high school to decide on this career path. From veterinarian to marine biologist, I made the choice of the more affordable career choice that would allow me to stay in-state. Although this was technically my third choice, I absolutely fell in love with every aspect of it. The versatility drew me in, and the concepts and climate issues were unable to be put to rest in my brain. I took AP Environmental Science my senior year, and it was only there that I realized just how many systems exist within our society to keep it running. It also showed me how many of those systems take advantage of developing countries and only look at money instead of the future of our Earth.  

Although there is media coverage on some of these issues, I find that most people don’t care because it does not affect their day-to-day life. They read what can be done about these pressing climate issues and then continue their same lifestyle. One person can’t change the world, right? However, every great movement in history started out with a small group of individuals who saw that change needed to happen. One person alone can’t make much of an impact, but if every one person did what they could for the environment, the positive effect adds up. I strive to research, learn, question, initiate, and teach environmental science. It is important, and in this modern and highly populated world, environmental science is a career that demands to be recognized.  

All that is needed for an entry level job in environmental science is a bachelor’s degree in the subject, or related subjects like chemistry or microbiology. However, it is possible to move onto more specific jobs with a Master’s degree rather than a broader environmental science degree. These degrees include but are not limited to geology, hydrology, and engineering. The average annual salary for environmental scientists is around $80,000. This varies from job to job, and it is an occupation that will always be needed, so there will always be job opportunities for this career.  

One aspect that I love about Environmental Science is the multitudes of subsets one could get into. You could be out doing field work and collecting data, or as Professor Connolly of the University of Central Arkansas department of Geography describes it, you could be the translator. This includes turning raw data into understandable terms for the average person and recognize the limitations of the data in the real world. Since I am currently in the Planning and Administration track for Environmental Science at UCA, I get the opportunity to do both, however it will be mostly the latter.  

One limitation to this career though, is being totally aware of the improvements and changes that could be made to make our Earth more sustainable, however unable to make those changes due to the imbalance of wants and needs within the economies that govern our consumption. For example, Coca-Cola is a company who mass produces their products in plastic bottles, causing millions of plastics to go into landfills every year that won’t degrade for thousands of years. Of course, we know that plastic is a problem, however because of the size and scale of the company, it would be almost impossible to force them to change to glass containers because of the price that it would take to make the glass.  

In order to make change within large cooperations focused only on money, lots of work would need to be done and a lot of legal action as well. While in the long term the change would be worthwhile, the short-term effects and struggle with plastic use within large companies would result in a never-ending battle. Knowing so much could be done in order to slow the effects of climate change without being able to set those things into motion would be the hardest part of my job. However, I am willing to do all that I can, and that is why I chose Environmental Science as my future career. For my state of mind as well as the quality of living for future generations after me, I plan on resting easy knowing that I did what I could for our fragile Earth. 

WORKS CITED 

What is environmental science? EnvironmentalScience.org. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://www.environmentalscience.org/. 

Rateliff, K., & Connolly, M. (2021, October 14). Environmental Science Interview. personal.