Presented by Our Partner Schools


With ongoing concerns for a sustainable planet, students who pursue green majors choose from a variety of career paths in a range of industries. Find out more about careers in sustainability from our partner schools.

Students outside ASU’s Sustainability School Students convene outside Arizona State University’s Sustainability School.

Consider Careers in Sustainability 

Whether you choose to couple a field like law or public policy with an interest in green issues, or approach the topic from your interest in biological or environmental science, students are entering green careers with many options to apply their passion and expertise.  

Careers in Private, Public and Nonprofit Institutions 

Sewanee’s environmental graduates currently work at all levels in a variety of private, public, and international organizations, including alumni serving as the director of forest strategy for World Wildlife Fund, heads of two state forestry divisions, partner at Greentech Capital Advisors, the director of Yale's Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry, and the director of the University of Florida's School of Forest Resources and Conservation. More recent graduates hold positions including university professors, attorneys, nonprofit director, and scientist at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

For undergraduate alumni of Arizona State University, more than 70 percent are working in sustainability-related careers - that's nearly triple the national average for major-to-career match. Students work across all sectors for employers such as Apple, Tesla, Uber, Disney, Rolls-Royce, Boeing, AECOM, NRG, Arizona Department of Water Resources, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fair Trade USA, and GE Renewable Energy.

Alumni Find Satisfying Careers in Sustainability

After receiving a degree in sustainability from Swarthmore College, graduates have gone on to work as environmental attorneys, urban planners, water resource engineers, wildlife conservationists, researchers, and legislative correspondents. Swarthmore prepares its students to be national and global leaders. Examples of notable alumni in the field of sustainability include Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Helene Muller-Landau, leader of the Smithsonian Institution's Global Carbon Program; William Green, founder of the Green Research Group at MIT (which produces cutting-edge biofuel discoveries); Brad Gentry, director of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale University; and Eliza Cava, director of Conservation at the Audubon Naturalist Society.

Also finding a range of employment sectors, University of Arizona graduates work for resource, regulatory and planning agencies (U.S. Geological Survey, Arizona Department of Water Resources, Pima County Health), research and development, private consultants, non-governmental organizations, manufacturing, mining, energy and agricultural industries such as solar power designers, Monsanto and Salt River Project. They work on recycling and reusing water and wastewater, cleaning up hazardous waste, reducing pollution in manufacturing and helping cities and developers build sustainably.

Commitment to the Environment In and Out of the Classroom

In addition to exploring the range of majors and areas of focus, be sure to examine the institution’s commitment to sustainability, or, how their physical location lends itself to studies and practices in this area.

Career Paths in Sustainability

The University of New England suggests paths and specific examples for students who major in sustainable fields, and also include specific job titles in a range of fields held by graduates of their program:

  • Sustainability Coordinator
  • Environmental Consultant
  • Research Scientist
  • Animal Rehabilitation Technician
  • Residential Energy Efficiency Program Coordinator
  • Director of Community Outreach
  • Grant Writer

Job Titles Green and Sustainable Fields :

  • Sustainability and Active Transportation Assistant | City of Tacoma
  • Environmental Scientist | TRC Solutions
  • Monitoring Coordinator | Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Natural Resource Team Leader | U.S. Forest Service
  • Forestry Technician — Recreation | U.S. Forest Service
  • Northeast Ecology Assistant | The Trustees of Reservations
  • Field Biologist | NaturEner USA
  • Environmental Scientist | Tetra Tech EM, Inc
  • Outreach Coordinator | Dan River Basin Association
  • Residential Energy Efficiency Program Coordinator | Mass Energy Consumer Alliance
  • Co-Coordinator Sustainable Community Immersion Program | Tryon Life Community Farm
  • Retail Solar Advisor | Sungevity
  • Wetland and Wildlife Scientist | Normandeau
  • Manatee Biologist | FL Wildlife Conservation Commission
Student at University of New England A student getting hands on experience as part of their green major. Photo courtesy of University of New England.

When researching the best green college for your future, be sure to find out where alumni work and what career paths they have chosen to help broaden your horizons for a successful career in sustainability. (Read more about Green Majors and Green Colleges).