Geography/Env Jobs in Industry, How much does a top 10/20 Uni matter?

[Myjobisanightmare]

I get that in certain industries it matters greatly a bit like it’s not what you know it’s who you know matters

Geography Env is where my kids passion lies and yes we’ll have saved a pot of money for 3 years accommodation but there’s not an endless supply of cash from us beyond that so does child go away to a top 20 Uni and spend all the pot on accommodation in that city

Or go to a top 40 university on the door step stay at home use the pot for things such as a year’s study abroad, a car, rent for a years work placement somewhere else in the country etc etc

If both isn’t an option which is the best route to go down ??

I think this is a big dilemma. I have a relative who’s just graduated in Environmental science (RG uni) and could not get a job. Will do a masters. I am not sure that will help much. It’s also the science with the lowest salaries as many are in charity sector or funded by the government. It’s also an area of work flooded by keen amateurs and too many graduates.

My advice would be two-fold. Do Geography at the best uni you can. Look at all options within the course. Many will have environment options. Dc then needs to evaluate which specialisms would earn decent money to stand on their own two feet. If you have loads of options at home for work great, but it’s a narrow vision maybe? If Dc is interested in a wider field of work, look at a uni that provides the best options. Look at employability. Geography is a great option from the best uni Dc can get to, in my opinion.

Second piece of advice: do meaningful work experience. Stand out from the crowd. Do something that will boost cv on environmrntal lines. Volunteer - get known! Look at national trust for example. Relative has done nothing linked to area of work sought, didn’t want year abroad and didn’t even go for the short residential in y3. It’s not easy to get a job and every bit of broad experience helps. I would not limit horizons by staying close to home and I would certainly evaluate job opportunities and salaries allied to choices as money matters.

Environmental jobs may also be looking for a specialism at MSc level, so worth having a look at current grad jobs to see what they are looking for. An integrated masters degree might be worth considering.

Make sure your DC can drive. A huge number of entry level env jobs require it, and lots of environmentally minded students choose not to learn. It can be career limiting.
Also they need to know what they might want to do long term. Do they want to work for the Environment Agency? For a charity (in which case unpaid internships for years lie ahead), for a water or waste company (decent pay) or consultancy?
It's a big sector and all the above look for different skill sets. But its a very practical sector and unless looking at grad schemes for BP or big organisations, university will matter less than experience.

And I was the only non PhD more often than not everywhere I went. It's a low paid and very highly educated sector.
Which I no longer work in due to endless low pay.

From my friends experiences it doesn’t matter one bit.

A degree with a year out in industry would be good to boost employability. Also, they should plan for the possibility of doing a masters degree.

For context, one of my dc did an Oceanography degree, followed by 6 years working in an unrelated industry. A masters degree in sustainability a year ago and now a job in ESG. Both undergraduate and post grad degrees were at top 20 universities.

His view, with hindsight is that it is the work experience, internships, year in industry which puts you ahead of the game.

Agree with the clean driving licence requirement - I spent a lot of time doing site work, and would easily clock up 20,000 miles a year or more.

@SabrinaThwaite and @turkeyboots could I butt in with a question about the driving? DS is doing a similar degree, has done lots of volunteering and is currently on a work placement, he is also learning to drive for this very reason but he is dyspraxic and really struggling with gears, his instructor has suggested he switch to automatic but I am worried he will not be able to drive employers vehicles such as vans, would you agree that this might be a problem?

@EvenmoreDetermined Hard to say - with the move towards electric vehicles then gearboxes will become a thing of the past. You’d hope that environmental companies would be leading the way with electric vehicles.

I was doing most of my travelling in the 80s/90s in company vehicles or hire vehicles or my own car, but vehicles and working practices have changed a lot since then. I think nowadays you might be able to argue that employers need to make reasonable accommodations if your DS has a formal diagnosis of dyspraxia.

reasonable adjustments is the term I meant to use.

Pp are right, in the environment sector practical application is far more important. Volunteering (and not turtle tagging on the beach but something relevant, regular and in the country you plan to build a career) is vital or your application goes to the bottom of the pile.
I would check the content of the course and go for ones that's prioritise industry links, placements (not just 40hrs), and the kind of topics that are of interest.

Thanks @SabrinaThwaite yes, I have thought about reasonable adjustments but if the work is short contracts etc that might be too much to be reasonable. Although as you say, manual gearboxes are going to disappear gradually. He is practising in my automatic while he's at home for the summer and we'll decide what to do when he goes back to uni in the autumn.

Mine finally passed their test days before their first exam thank the lord as it was an extremely spendy time consuming process

Thank you for all your comments above I think I have to win the lottery send them to the expensive rental city they’ve firmed and save another 30k for the car, industrial placement year, masters etc etc 😂

Mine didn’t do lessons until post uni graduation and was earning, but passed his test with not too many 2hr lessons. We bunged him some money towards the lessons. It means he can use the pool car if he has to go to a different office.

It also occurs to me that this is a career for the relatively well off. Another grad I know had a car given to her by granny. This got her to work experience. Granny paid for driving lessons too. It also makes me wonder who gets the better paid jobs straight from uni? Who can afford all this interning? Many parents cannot save £3000 these days, never mind £30,000. I can see why many cannot get jobs in this sector. Engineering on the other hand would be very different. Plenty of well paid work for environmental engineers!

I did environmental / civil engineering. Not great pay, still needed a masters and my own transport. Even in a company that provided niche services but in demand services I was earning a lot less than my uni contemporaries that went into management and finance. Probably better paid than straight environmental science jobs but don’t kid yourself that environmental engineering is well paid (unless you reach director level).

My son was pretty on this - BSc Geography from Bristol. He did decide in year 3 of his degree to change to law by the way. He qualifies as a solicitor next year. He will always be interested in his BSc/studies in this field. I suppose my point is they can go to university thinking one thing and come out doing a different career (you can combine the two - environmental lawyer too)

I know an environmental consultant and they did a well regarded MSc at Cranfield after their first degree. I think what course you do where matters for doing well in this type of career.

My first post grad job 20 years ago paid me the grand total of £15,000 a year. And my classmates were envious as I had a paid role.
It's a great sector to work in, and v v needed, but a long way from financially rewarding.

Cranfield courses are management focussed rather than purely technical degrees - great if you want to do corporate sustainability but not so useful for hands on fieldwork.

@SabrinaThwaite You need masters to be a chartered engineer. Are you chartered?

When chartered, and work in consultancy, you certainly earn more than an environmental scientist. Depends where and doing what! Just like finance is not exclusively big bucks. Chartered engineers have their pick of the jobs and don’t have to work for charities or quangos. DH employs them but most are civil engineers by training and they are a consultancy. If you are any good, of course you can reach director level.

Yes, I was chartered. MSc from a well regarded institution, lots of years experience working on UK / overseas / offshore projects, niche training and experience as an added bonus.

No, not everyone can reach director (board) level. Principal engineer is often as good as it gets in big consultancies.

I would have earned quite a lot more working as a TA at my DH’s employer, more regular hours and better benefits too.

Go to a smaller one then! DH never worked weekends. No one does. However business acumen needed!

Oh, I worked for large and small consultancies and contractors. Weekend working or travelling was often necessary - you have to fit work in around weekend closures or site shutdowns and you don’t take weekends off when you’re offshore . It’s not always a very family friendly career for women either.

DHs firm worked mostly in an office. They design. Don’t do site supervision. Much easier life for anyone. Plus home working options now.