Since this post is about career paths, I should mention I have no current career path. I truly don’t believe I will ever have a career planned out until I am actually doing it. Right now I am also undecided, which I’m not stressed about since most people switch majors anyways. I strongly anticipate myself going into environmental engineering with an environment, economy, development, and sustainability minor. Like I previously said, I have no career picked out for me. I do know that I want to work with helping our Earth live as long as it can. Whether that is working with water and air pollution, recycling, or waste disposal- I know I want to contribute to the technology that will help save humans and this planet. One of my goals with my career is to make sure I helped make a difference and have played my part in paying it forward to future generations. Another reason I like this path is because it requires working in different environments. Working a desk job is just not for me. Environmental engineering requires office work or on the field at a job. This is perfect for what I can see myself doing.
After looking at Environmental engineering on the U.S. Department of Labor website, environmental engineers only need a bachelor’s degree. I already expected this as many engineering jobs only require a bachelor’s degree. They listed that you need no work experience in a related occupation and there is no on the job training. I did not expect those statistics to be posted. While I guess I don’t need prior experience, I definitely plan on doing 2-3 internships and utilize resources here at Ohio State. The engineering career fair is something I plan on going to and meeting representatives from companies who come here. I honestly don’t know what environmental engineering companies advocate for and what their focus is on. If I find one that is big on sustainability that would be ideal. I also want to get involved with research here. I have not looked into much yet as I just decided on engineering but I plan to soon. I am also interested in joining clubs related to sustainability. There is a club called ‘Engineers for a Sustainable World’- which sounds exactly like what I want to do with my life. Basically, I want to get involved, do research, and make connections within the college.
If I didn’t get a job working as an engineer, I would try to find a job that advocates and works for change in sustainability practices. I probably would pick any job that works with helping the environment and protecting what is left of the Earth. I don’t know what career paths those would be called, but I do know of multiple companies that I am very interested in their work that I would love to be a part of (One of these companies is called Parley- check them out). And honestly, I love photography and I wouldn’t mind using that skill while working for a company being behind the scenes, working with their brand image, and advocating for their message.
The next steps for me here at Ohio State are to research more about opportunities with these interests and make more connections. I am currently in exploration so I have not talked to an academic advisor in engineering or even outside of the exploration program. I would say my next step is to sit down and discuss future goals and get guidance in general from an advisor.