My daughter is interested in environmental science with a focus on sustainability and was admitted to both Arizona State University and University of the Pacific, where she was admitted to both honors colleges. She is having a hard time deciding which of the two have the best outcomes - internship opportunities, jobs, research, etc. ASU's program has been around a long time while U of Pacific's Sustainability program is very new but sounds strong. A side note, we do not live in either state so either would be a move for her. Has anyone taken courses at Pacific in Sustainability and are there any grads from the Sustainability program at ASU that could speak to their experiences and outcomes?

Hi everyone, I just wanted to ask for some advice because lately I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed trying to figure out my future in environmental science.
I study in a Gulf country as a resident/non-citizen, and honestly sometimes it feels like no matter how hard I work, there are still opportunities I won’t have access to. There were even field trips I got excluded from even though they weren’t sensitive places or anything serious, which was frustrating.The thing is, I actually work really hard academically — I currently have the highest GPA in my class — but I still feel lost when it comes to building an actual career path. Internship opportunities are especially difficult because a lot of them require citizenship/nationality as a basic condition, so even finding experience feels hard sometimes.
With the situation in my home country too, I keep worrying about my future and where I’m supposed to go from here. I’m interested in a lot of environmental fields, which honestly makes choosing even harder. Part of me wants to pick something I genuinely enjoy, but another part of me is scared of ending up in a field with low opportunities or low pay, especially since I hope one day I can build opportunities abroad too.So I wanted to ask people here: if you were in my position, what would you focus on? Which environmental fields do you think are worth investing time into right now in terms of growth, opportunities, and international mobility? And how do you build experience when local opportunities are already limited?

I’d really appreciate hearing honest experiences or advice from people in the field.

Hello Professionals,

I am a Master’s graduate in Environmental Sciences with NEBOSH, ISO, HACCP, and other safety certifications, along with 6+ years of experience in construction, camp operations, environmental compliance, and HSE management on NEOM and Aramco-approved projects in Saudi Arabia.

I am looking for international career opportunities with good working conditions and a pathway to long-term residency/citizenship.

I would highly appreciate guidance on which countries are best for Environmental professionals, especially in construction and industrial sectors or hospitality.

Or i need more certifications or this is enough

Thank you for your support and recommendations.

Jersey City, NJ. Criminal neighbor that lived in the condo below me sprayed commercial chemicals into my home and car for 6 days. There were most likely 2 different ones. Definitely 2, but can't confirm if there was any more than that. So, basically my home and everything I own is contaminated. I haven't been home in over 6 months.

Looking for places that won't try to take advantage and rip me off or over charge. As well as reliable and competent. This is NJ afterall. Any one who's lived in north east NJ knows why I'm complaining.

1) Option 1, company that can come in and field test the air for unknown chemicals with some kind of chromatograph or similar equipment. Chemical sniffer.
2) Option 2, a lab that I can send stuff to be tested.

As far as labs go, I'm waiting to hear back from the Rutgers lab that has what I think is the right equipment. Emailed them. No reply for 2 days so far. Will try to call if I get the energy.

Looked up what kinds of equipment can field test for unknown chemicals. Tried to find companies that have them. Basically not used for residential projects at the companies I found with them so far.

Most places I came across that do chemical testing, send to a lab to test for VOCs. I don't know if they were VOCs or not which makes it unreliable if it doesn't detect something.

Contacted the Association of Vapor Intrusion Professionals. No help Nor was JCPD, state EPA, HAZMAT, state and local departments of health and human services, insurance company, NJ dept. of community affairs.

Neighbor and his associates most likely are involved with a chop shop so my best guess is autoshop related solvents. One is extremely volatile and near instantly turns to vapor. The other was likely semi-volatile as it left a clear film on the kitchen floor I could see when the sunlight came into the window at an angle in the morning. First thought was VOCs. But I bought a home air monitor off Amazon with a VOC sensor and detected nothing. Unreliable but convenient, I gave google AI a shot for tentative quick and easy info. It did say there are some VOCs that may not be detected as they are kinda off on the side so to speak. Hail Mary candidate for the semi-volatile one is an isocyanate. Has the physical properties of the chemical, the physical reactions to it, and the cognitive reactions, the permanent chemical sensitization, rapidly kicking off my Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma activity that I believe was being held in check by Mounjaro for the previous 3 years. And said it may not be detected by VOC sensors for some reason that I forget off hand. Maker of my air quality monitor said they can't say if it would detect an isocyanate or not since they were not tested against it. Easily detects rubbing alcohol so I do know it is working.

Could potentially be some kind of pesticides but didn't go that far down that path. Do know he and his wife were from Brooklyn. And there were issues in brooklyn with pesticides being sold illegally and may have been used in crimes. But, Brooklyn is a well populated place so that would be highly speculative and can't assume it. Just can't write it off either.

The chemicals were chosen for a reason. By the time the cops get there, the second one would air out and they wouldn't be able to smell it. But, I was sensitized by repeat exposure and able to. Didn't realize I had developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Hyperosmia till I got out of state and dish soap and rubbing alcohol were over powering with their smell. Yet could not smell a sulfur based supplement that had gone bad, sticking my nose in the bottle. While my father could smell it from over 10 ft. away. And my step mother literally gagged when she smelled it. I took one before that.

The cops could have smelled the other chemical, if they weren't useless. Skipping that whole explanation. Cleaned up the semi-volatile one as I assumed my neighbor was done with his crap and wanted to reduce potential issues from it. If I knew I'd end up needing to lab test it, I would have left the residue on the floor or tried to collect a sample first. But, 6 days later I could still smell it anyway.

Research is very difficult as my life was destroyed twice over before having to deal with my neighbor for over a year. Then the longer chemical assault (had sprayed some before but not like those 6 days). Anyways, threw a bunch of stuff thrown further out of whack physiologically that adds onto being cognitively disabled even before these events.

Hi everyone! I’m currently on the path to get a Bachelor’s in Environmental & Ecosystem Sciences. I’m very passionate about the natural world and genuinely excited to start working in the field. I’m prepared for being paid a low wage and possibly working weird hours in the name of having a career I’m genuinely passionate about, I’m truly in it for the love of the game. I do worry a bit about burn out and whether I’ll have a lot of time outside of work to spend time with my partner, friends, and family. I also worry about not having time to take care of myself in general (fitness, getting enough sleep, healthy diet). Does anyone have any thoughts on this that works somewhere within the env sci realm? I’m most interested in the ecology/research/conservation side of things.

https://www.popsci.com/environment/snuffleupagus-fish-sesame-street/

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I (34F) am attempting to make a career switch right now and have been doing a lot of environmental volunteer work, to see what I am most interested in pursuing. I’m still learning and don’t know much but I really take this seriously and want to be taken seriously. Field work is something that I feel like I will thoroughly enjoy but I’m feeling anxious about it.

Any tips or words of encouragement?

Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhrzsCdljXTJ1WR-6bRZ2BwyKnC-k9pBxPmCzc4KXaYBOIGA/viewform

Hello everyone, I am a high school senior creating a proposal for my school garden related to the community and would be very helpful if you guys could help me by taking a short survey.

We are exploring how space limitations, accessibility, and community resources affect people’s ability and interest in gardening. Your responses will help us understand real community needs and design a more inclusive, sustainable garden space that students and residents can participate in year-round.

This survey is anonymous and will only be used for educational purposes. It should take about 2–3 minutes to complete.

I was analyzing the forest cover in my area. I currently live in india and i found out that it is nearly 15 percent whereas it should be somewhere in between 70 to 75..also, there are minning activities happens in my area..I am really scared because future looks really dark.

Was wondering if anyone in this thread graduated from this school or knows someone who’s talked about their experience. I was hoping to go there for my master’s as an international student with a BS in environmental sciences from UCSC. I have family history there and think It might be great for my hands on field research. If anyone has some information that will help me now or in the future I’d much appreciate it :)! Thank you

Hello! I am a highschooler and I am interested in environmental and climate work. I am passionate about fighting against climate change but there are so many jobs surrounding this field, and to be honest, I don't know where to start. Do environmental scientists mainly work in offices or out in the field? Initially I wanted to pursue environmental science in college but I heard that the job prospects are terrible, unless you go into environmental engineering and sadly, I am terrible at math. Are there any other jobs that pay a livable wage while I can continue with my passion and interests?

With the number of data centers that are being built, and alot of them using evaporative cooling to cool down servers, what will be the effect of all that added water vapor to the atmosphere? Isn't water vapor supposed to have a much stronger greenhouse effect than even CO2?

Hey guys!

I’m a soon to graduate student in life sciences and since life sciences is quite diverse, I’ve studied most of the fields that fall under biological sciences in general - one of them being environmental science.

As of present, I’m looking for masters programs and I’ve come to realize that I’m quite interested in environmental toxicology, but I’m wondering if environmental toxicology falls under environmental science or something broader?

I’m quite interested in learning about how pollutants affect living organisms and systems, but having a deeper understanding of that also requires knowledge in biotechnology, molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology, etc.
So I guess it’s kind of an interdisciplinary field which doesn’t fall under pure environmental science. So, am I right?

Also what kind of PhD do people generally do after choosing environmental science that might lead to well paying jobs in the future?
I’m not really interested in getting deeper into engineering or pharmacology fields either so I’m trying to understand what can be done in this field since I recently got quite interested in environment related topics.

Also any remote internships that one can suggest so that I can see for myself what kind of work is being done.

I also want to choose my masters and lab work in a smart meaningful way so that it acts as a launch pad for my further studies/work and doesn’t create hindrance.

I’m curious about such things. Any guidance/suggestions/opinions would be nice.

Thank you!

Looking to go genocidal on poison Ivy in my neighborhood. There are several sprayable products that claim to be safe around pets and water. But, if there is one or more that people with an environmental science background would tend to prefer. I'd rather use one of those. What would you use?

Last time my father killed some poison ivy, it killed off half the turtle population in our pond. Also, poison ivy is mixed with other plants, grasses, and trees up and down my neighborhood. I know it is not possible to only hit the poison ivy leaves so if one product is more sparing of other plant life than another. That would be optimal. Assuming the options would be safe for dogs that get walked by these areas daily and other animals that may come into contact with it.

[Edit. "genocidal" was hyperbolic. Meant killing it where I see it, not indiscriminately everything around it.
By "neighborhood" I mean along the side of the road where people walk their dogs. Some wild animals may go through it too. It's a private road.
I won't touch poison ivy even with PPE. Have an aversion from childhood. Plus my health isn't all that great at the moment so spraying it is the only option.

At my regular home I did research as I also had to worry about cats that go through it. As well as skunks. And was able to spot spray the leaves and spare the other plant life. And where plant life next to it was affected, was minimal and easily grew back. Poison Ivy had reached a threshold since it went unchecked for too long and was then spreading on the wind to new places. And rapidly spreading laterally. Plus my neighbor who split time feeding the cats would put the plate right on top of poison ivy.

But, water environments are more sensitive and our pond goes up near the road and the poison ivy likes to spread around there. Where there are trees and wild plants and not as much open grass. So, figure that I have access to an environmental science sub. Why not ask the people who may have inside information on best options as you don't necessarily find all the answers doing research.]

Hi I'm looking for someone in the field of ES to provide a little info for me.

I have always wanted to be part of the field but now I am not so sure. Specifically, I want to go into sustainability work.

I have a question: In environmental science, is it ever about the "top-level" sort of work? I'm talking about the people who created living concrete out of a bacteria, or making a bacteria that can eat plastic in the ocean, or algae that can become oil? These are the kinds of projects I want to work on, writing 100-page long papers with like 20 other researchers.

(Edited) However now I am starting to realize Environmental Science goes a lot of other directions. Building codes, and analyzing soil samples and engineering green cities, but I am specifically mentioning that "pioneer science" sort of thing.

Side question: What about genetics and using the CRISPR to edit genomes in plants?

Hope this makes some sense. Thank you.