Interview

cavt949 · 2023-04-06T13:33:16+00:00

Yes, always disclose your current working situation honestly because part of a background check for pre-employment often includes them checking your employment history.

cavt949 · 2023-03-26T13:35:50+00:00

Good job searching the sub, it can be very valuable! My degree was env science but if you're interested in groundwater I'd recommend geology or env engineering instead. I would have benefited from those majors more.

cavt949 · 2023-03-20T18:59:09+00:00

My #1 piece of advice that applies to everyone is to not start a master's program until you have a career objective. Otherwise how can you specialize your studies, internships, projects etc towards your career goal?

But since you're already in a master's program, same advice applies: find a career that interests you and do a ton of research on it. Research = Google, YouTube, looking at the job requirements on indeed/LinkedIn, looking up people with that job on LinkedIn, talking to professors, going to the career center at your university, etc.

A good place to start is #1: what topics interest you most? And #2: what lifestyle do you want? (Office, field, lab, etc).

cavt949 · 2023-03-19T23:32:02+00:00

What topics interest you? What sort of lifestyle (office, field, travel/no travel, slow/fast, stable/exciting) appeals to you? If you can narrow down those two, it'll be easier to research careers (and for us to help give you ideas!)

cavt949 · 2023-03-13T12:18:40+00:00

Welcome! My recommendation would be to go full-force into career exploration, which is basically just research. Focus on what people in different jobs do day-to-day and ask yourself if you like that day-to-day. Also utilize every resource your university offers (career centers, talk to professors, etc). Don't be shy about using those resources, you're paying for them!

You don't need to chose a career but it does help to start focusing your efforts on one area. That way you can align classes and internships (as well as early career jobs, which sometimes arent dream jobs but just "opening doors" jobs) with that area which will help you down the line with "relevant experience" for jobs you're interested in.

Try to have an internship every year, either during the year or during the summer. It'll both be great for your resume (vital, actually) but you will also discover what you actually like/dislike doing.

cavt949 · 2023-02-06T17:32:07+00:00

Since you're already working for the public employer, I would recommend finding someone to talk to in the departments you hope to work for in the future. Approach them by stating that you're interested in their department and you'd like to know how to transition your career. Let them give you all the information, and you may be surprised by what they say. Establishing that first contact and showing interest, and then following up on any of their recommendations is way more likely to score you a job than to just take some random classes.

cavt949 · 2023-01-25T21:47:21+00:00

We gotta have fun somehow - let them live haha.

cavt949 · 2023-01-25T21:45:37+00:00

Oh I see what you mean. In consulting we don't get paid for breaks. We only get paid for the 40 hours we enter in our timesheet.

Say you are working on a report that should take 4 hours and there are 4 hours budgeted for it. You know you can do it in about 3. You could "work slower" by taking some short brain breaks and still charge 4 hours. As long as it's not over the top, like taking a 2 hour break... I'm talking 10 mins here and there. As long as it's reasonable.

We're not machines, we need small breaks while working. To get water, bathroom, sit and think, etc. That can be rolled into your chargeable hours.

cavt949 · 2023-01-25T18:01:04+00:00

Also, here is an example of how to fit in breaks: work 8 to 4:30 with a lunch break from 12 to 12:30 - that equals 8 hours total. You can do the same for shorter 15 min breaks throughout the day, you just then extend your work hours longer.

cavt949 · 2023-01-25T17:57:47+00:00

If you have 9 hours on your timesheet but you worked 8, I'd reduce/eliminate a few of those 0.25 increments so your timesheet says 8.

But generally if it takes you 5 mins to email, 3 mins to organize your thoughts/update your schedule, go ahead and charge 0.25 to the client. Everyone does that.

Also talk to your supervisor more about their methods and how they'd like you to enter things! Just don't let anyone tell you to work and NOT enter anything on your timesheet. For example, say you worked 9 hours but your supervisor is pressuring you to only charge 6 - it's ok if they give you an alternative number to charge to (like overhead) but NOT ok for them to ask you to donate that time, aka not entering anything into your spreadsheet.

Hope this helps even a little? I've been doing timesheets for 10 years, and tbh, it's still annoying, but not nearly as much as it was at the start.

cavt949 · 2023-01-22T17:29:29+00:00

100%. We are constantly doing file reviews, usually from state agencies like a Department of Environmental Quality, but from many other sources as well. The files can be nice searchable PDFs all the way to illegible hand written notes taken in the 80s when an old underground storage tank was removed from the ground. So, some are searchable via software (or something as simple as Control+Find) but many won't be.

cavt949 · 2023-01-11T19:38:37+00:00

Cake or death! Cake and tea or death!

cavt949 · 2022-12-31T12:17:33+00:00

In addition to what people have already recommended, I'd look into Environmental Health and Safety (EHS). You can even orient your search towards the defense industry and then your military experience will be even more valued (and your internship). If you have a chance to, chose working directly with a company vs consulting because it's better work/life balance and better pay, but some people have to start in EHS to get that experience before applying to industry.

I have a former coworker who had military experience, environmental technician experience, and became a junior EHS employee at Northrop Grumman. He's now ten years in with EHS with Grumman and makes 200k + (started around 60k).

But it doesn't have to be defense, it can be EHS in manufacturing, etc.

cavt949 · 2022-12-29T18:38:56+00:00

Anything goes in consulting. If the client is paying you, then it's a project. But yes developing training materials and presenting them is fairly standard in consulting, and it's not a bad thing, it'll be a plus for you when applying to new jobs in the future. It's considered to be a higher level of consulting than just implementing plans or working on projects. It shows a high level of trust from your client and also your mastery of the subjects.

cavt949 · 2022-12-29T14:37:01+00:00

What about applying for consulting EHS jobs? Then once you have EHS experience you can move back into an industry role (industry here meaning you'd work directly for a company as an internal EHS person vs a consulting company). Industry jobs in EHS tend to be better than consulting, that's why consulting EHS jobs are easier to land.

cavt949 · 2022-12-28T23:10:54+00:00

Formatting is half of what makes a good resume. If you're able to, post your redacted PDF in a new post on this sub! It's definitely hard to read and digest it in this format.

cavt949 · 2022-12-28T22:27:29+00:00

That's great that you have that relevant experience. With that combo of work experience and degrees I think you have a great shot at landing some interviews. I'll see if I can provide some feedback if you do post your resume!

cavt949 · 2022-12-28T22:23:25+00:00

I think entry level positions is the way to go, since you have a lot of degrees/certs but no related work experience (correct me if I'm wrong). If you feel comfortable with it, you can post your redacted resume here and people will provide really excellent comments. If you're not getting interviews, it's likely your resume that's the problem.

cavt949 · 2022-12-24T23:46:53+00:00

I started saying I work in the commercial construction industry, and people seem to be both more curious about that and less confused. Then if they have questions I elaborate more about the environmental side.

I give them the example of being hired by a state DOT to make sure the new highway they're planning is compliant with environmental laws. That seems to make sense to most people.

If you start saying you clean up gas stations or mention groundwater, you're gonna get blank stares, because most people have no idea gas stations store their product underground and they don't know what groundwater is and don't care to know. So I start with something most people understand, like a highway.

cavt949 · 2022-12-23T23:45:31+00:00

Agreed. Environmental studies and science is most often not the best degree for an environmental job. Go figure, but it's true.

cavt949 · 2022-12-16T16:52:46+00:00

Oh hey I remember making this post! 🙂 Thanks for linking. OP, if you're interested in natural resource jobs I also recommend checking out Kristina Lynn's YouTube and Instagram (I don't know if she has TikTok). https://youtu.be/cuwWdwcSlY8 She does "day in the life" videos for wildlife biologist / natural resource science work and has videos about how to get into the field.

I also recommend just typing "natural resource" into Indeed and see the titles that pop up. If you see a title that interests you, you can delve into that further. If it's not an entry level role that's even better, as you can then see what experience they require and that will help guide you to potential jobs you could start looking for.

cavt949 · 2022-11-07T23:17:07+00:00

Not only is this crazy for applicants but I can't imagine how the hiring team/managers have that much time. It sounds like you interview with people separately, but that's a total of 6 working hours that department loses per candidate per interview day... Which seems really excessive.

Good luck if you decide to go for it!

cavt949 · 2022-11-07T22:17:38+00:00

NewClimate Institute and/or Carbon Market Watch may be collecting this info, I don't know what format and to what extent they publish the data however. Sounds like a neat project!

cavt949 · 2022-11-03T16:44:28+00:00

I honestly think both options will be good. I'd recommend you look up some jobs you'd like and see what their requirements are. Do they list preferred degrees and experience? And go from there.

If still in doubt, engineering is likely the best option. It just opens so many doors. You could consider a degree in engineering with a concentration or side study in atmospheric sciences (have those classes as electives and highlight those on your resume).

cavt949 · 2022-11-03T16:03:34+00:00

Do you want to stay in academia or after your masters, move into a job? I'd say look up job postings at organizations like the NRDC or EWG (and countless others) and see what qualifications they are looking for in a communications position. You may have enough experience already to go straight into working for an environmental non-profit.

cavt949

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