The Truth about Green Jobs
“Hope is short-lived unless coupled with a desire for future worlds that are not depressing but instead so enticing that they might lead us to yearn for a new way of being.” – Sarah Ray, A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety (2020)
A lot of confusion and angst is created over the desire to help the environment. Growing up, I held the mistaken belief that I needed to be good at science to help the environment. That is a myth that held me back for quite some time that I would like to clarify to better orient how you see your career amidst the climate crisis.
It is best to conceptualize environmental/climate jobs as an industry sector rather than a specific set of jobs. Many of the “environmental jobs” are jobs that use the skills of the work in the context of the environment. A policy analyst can specialize in and advocate for environmental legislation and policies. A lawyer can push back against callous corporations. A park interpreter can educate the public on the importance and fragility of our eco systems.
In A Guide to Eco-Anxiety, Anouchka Grose writes “If you care about the world, you have to care about the whole world” (p. 33). We know that the climate-crisis creates tremendous impacts across society and opportunities to help. As an example, an immigration lawyer can help environmental refugees that are already pouring over borders. Is it addressing the environmental change directly, no. Is it helping to mitigate damage and improvethe human condition, yes.
Below you will find a list of resources that emphasize how environmental jobs can be utilized in a variety of areas:
Eco Canada has an excellent Environmental Profiles page with details on jobs in the environmental sector. They also have labour market reports and a job board with a wide range of opportunities.
Climatebase allows you to search environmental jobs based on skills and types of work and provides a a newsletter highlighting interesting jobs
McGill: Careers in Sustainability - Handout of climate job boards and occupational titles. By no means an exhaustive list, but helpful in linking to a wide variety of resources
Though not without criticism, the organization 80,000 Hours maintains a job board focusing on specific problem areas that overlap with the climate-crisis including Biosecurity, Factory Farming, Global Health and Poverty
Beyond your work, you may also wish to Explore Activism and Local Volunteering opportunities.
Doing meaningful work is not a cure-all for ecological distress, anxiety and grief. Continue to Cultivating Hope and Managing our Emotions .