Environmental Studies Jobs in Education and Academics: A Rewarding Career Choice
Lots of rewards stem from a career in environmental education. First and perhaps foremost is the reward of working in an area of interest that has a wide appeal. Your own continuing education will keep you informed about newly identified environmental issues. You’ll work with people who hold interests similar to yours, and you’ll experience student growth. Finally, you’ll develop a sense that your life’s work is filled with success stories as you have a positive impact on students’ lives.
Continue Learning About the Environment
One obvious reward of working as an environmental educator is the opportunity to stay abreast of developments that focus on your first academic love, the environment. Good teachers continually participate in professional development. K - 12 and college and university educators alike need to be retrained and to stay updated in their knowledge and skills. New technologies may help resolve environmental crises, and unless you make an ongoing effort, your knowledge will not be current and you’ll quickly become out of touch. There are lots of ways to keep up with your subject, and among the easiest is to read science journals such as Science News, Discover magazine, National Wildlife, or National Geographic magazine.
Develop Creative Curriculums
Another advantage of a career teaching environmental studies is the freedom in the workplace. This will vary from school to school, between levels of education (middle school, high school, college), and by employment setting. But regardless of the level, this position offers considerable flexibility with respect to the type of material, content, teaching style, evaluation methods, and scheduling. Teaching is in large measure a self-directed activity that involves creativity. There are state guidelines, syllabi, learning goals, and assessments, but there are still many aspects that the educator designs and builds alone. This freedom to create is one of the most attractive characteristics the profession.
Work with Others Who Are Concerned About the Environment
The coterie of people you spend your day with is often rewarding. You’ll be around colleagues who share your interests, who can counsel you and help with development of activities, who can provide guidance and advice, and with whom you can have fun. There is a certain fellowship among teachers, a bond that develops as they share stories about the things that happened that day, funny stories about what “Johnny” said, their successes, and some times their failures, too. We learn from the good and the bad, from personal experience, and vicariously as well.
Watch Your Students Develop
Another reward is the realization that you contributed to the academic growth and maturation of an individual. You’ll be pleasantly surprised that, by the time students become college seniors, they have learned to give an organized presentation, write an effective report, think critically, and do independent research, despite many shortcomings observed while they were freshmen. Sometimes, in class, I’ll direct a question to the group or an individual and am at first disappointed that no one is able to cobble together a reply to the query, that no one is on the same wavelength. But often, if I persist, I’ll find that one student, perhaps a quiet one, has thought the process through and reveals an astonishing level of understanding. That is truly a reward for that day.
Make a Difference in Someone’s Life
Finally, perhaps the best rewards are those little “thanks” from students at the end of a workshop or course, at the end of the year, or upon graduation at the end of their middle school, high school, or college careers. Sometimes alumni return with special greetings and thanks, too. There is no reward more fulfilling than knowing your efforts have had a positive impact on a student’s life.