Environmental Science is becoming the sleeper hit among our clients. There seems to be no other issue that unites Gen Z more than our planet. Oceans, rivers, lakes, plains, and the status of our kids’ own backyards has dominated our client calls for months. It’s also becoming a wildly popular major across top colleges, with many creating in-depth programs aimed at alleviating climate change.
With such an emerging and competitive major, there are a few ways you can start setting yourself apart from the crowd, and getting started is shrimple enough. Keep reading for moray ways to explore environmental science. Wait those puns were more marine science. Screw it, we’re forging ahead.
Reading
Cracking a spine or two (book spines, not regular ones) is the best way to dive in, especially if you’re starting with a broad interest in enviro. For broad overviews, try books like The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken. If you think you might be interested in the combination of policy and environmental science, you might like This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate by Naomi Klein. Since climate change is one of the hottest topics, there is no shortage of books to get you invested.
Online Classes
Once you’ve started to read books and narrow down what you’re passionate about, it’s time to get even deeper! Online classes are a great way to take what you’re interested in and really put it to the test. We recommend sites like Coursera, the Great Courses, LinkedIn learning, and Yale Open Courses to get started. One of the most important things to remember in this process is that you’re trying to develop a niche that you can use to market yourself to colleges. Dedicating a good chunk of time to taking classes will not only make you a better student of environmental science, but it will also allow you to find the niche you inhabit.
Summer Programs
Time to get hands-on! Summer programs will allow you to take what you’ve learned from classes and books and put them into action. You could opt for a more traditional summer program, like UCLA’s. These are typically offered at a university and are meant to give you a miniature college experience, or you could go for a virtual program like Duke’s. You could even give an experiential program a shot, like beach cleanups in the Caribbean. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s reflective of the niche you’ve chosen to explore.
Research
Conducting research with a professor is by far the most impressive thing on this list. Becoming a research assistant to someone respected in the field is one of the best ways to spend your summer. Bonus points if you’re able to assist with research and get published too. Research the top professors and scientists in the field of climate science and pitch yourself as a summer research assistant. Professors are often super excited to talk about their chosen field, so don’t be scared to reach out.
Intern
You’ve got a plethora of options for internships in environmental science. You could intern at a governmental agency like the EPA or something at the city or state level. You could get a position at an environmentally conscious company or think tank. You could even get involved with a political internship with a candidate or representative who takes the environment seriously. What you choose to intern in will, of course, be predicated on the niche you’re choosing to build for yourself. Make sure to suss out the vibes though, because you don’t want an internship where they’re just making you do annoying errands.
Get a Job
Another way to show you’re dedicated to environmental science is by getting a job that lets you flex your skills. If you live near the beach, maybe there are opportunities for part-time gigs that allow you to educate the public. If you have a science museum in town, see if they need students to help lead younger school groups. Heck, you could get a job at a recycling plant.
Capstone Project
Students who work with us and are interested in environmental science often complete a capstone project of their own design, outside of school. These have ranged from wide-scale projects aimed at ending food waste to clothes recycling programs to community gardens. There are so many ways to tie environmental science into other disciplines, especially as the world aims to become more sustainable. This means you have so many opportunities to engage with these interests and create something lasting.
It’s important to figure out what you want to do now. Not only will it make the application process smoother down the line, but it will also give you the opportunity to truly find out what matters to you. We don’t want you to burnout on environmental science your sophomore year of college, so if you find yourself with more complaints than curiosity, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
If you need help developing your extracurriculars and strategizing for college admissions, reach out to us today.