Last Thursday, Career and Professional Development hosted a panel discussion and networking round tables with employers in the sustainability and environmental science field. I have heard a good amount of positive feedback from students who, like me, thought the event was great. Thank you for joining us!
Panelists included:
- Lillian Johnson, ‘14 | Project Manager at Peter A. Ravella Consulting
- Justin Murrill, ’02 08’ | Senior Manager at AMD Austin
- Phoebe Romero, ’14 | Program Consultant at CLEAResult
- Joe Beach, Recruitment and Veterans Program Manager at TPWD
- Kaiba White, Policy Analyst and Community Organizer at Public Citizen
The panelists shared with attendants how they were able to find a rewarding job in their field and their advice for students interested in sustainability and environmental science.
As a student pursuing a career in the same field, here are some highlights that resonated most with me:
- Networking and internships are key. Ask questions and reach out to people to make the connections you need.
- When you attend network events read some articles on current environmental issues to be able to have a substantial conversation.
- Be ready to move your location. They said that at least at the beginning of our professional career we should be flexible and willing to move to another city to take advantage of opportunities.
- Have a couple of part-time jobs while you’re in school to test the waters and find out what you like and don’t like to do.
- Experience is much more important than grades. You might have to do unpaid work or volunteer to acquire this.
- Reflect on what you are passionate about and what you are good at. Once you merge those two things you’ll have a better idea of what to do.
- Always ask potential employers or professionals you network with, how does a day in their life look like?
- Join professional society organizations.
Attendees had an opportunity to put in practice some of the rich advice they got. Afterwards, the panel students and professionals made connections. It was definitely an enriching experience. If you were not able to attend check our blog regularly for any future networking events and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions or want further information about last week’s panel.
By Ana Quevedo MSEM ‘18, Sustainability Graduate Assistant