Careers Working on Climate Change
Students Are Interested, the World Needs Them
For the generation of those under 25, GenZ, climate change is not an abstraction but rather among their greatest fears. Many have already experienced some form of climate disaster, a reality in counties resident to more than 40 percent of Americans in 2021. Pretty much wherever they grow up, their lives will be increasingly influenced by heat extremes, coastal flooding, severe storms, and weather patterns with no recent precedent.
As someone who has worked on climate change for decades and taught at multiple universities, I know that young people increasingly want to know not only how climate change will influence their lives but what they can do about it — ideally something that could be the basis for a career. A frequent after class conversation begins with a question about some topic just discussed but quickly veers off in a more personal nature. In response to some reading about climate analysis or policy a student will tell me “that is so interesting,” followed by “I would love to do something like that when I graduate.”
This has happened often enough that I’ve begun to compile some notes to help students think about career possibilities. There are many obvious possibilities like being a climate scientist or diplomat, established careers that typically…
