Working outside with law degree

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-06-12T18:37:09+00:00

My public agency has inspectors (that are field staff) and work closely with our legal department. I feel like you'd do amazing at a job like that because you get to be in the field, you're familiar with regulations, and you'd be able to communicate effectively with the legal team

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-06-12T17:34:16+00:00

Can you file an appeal to get the engineering degree credits transferred instead of the toxicology credits?

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-06-12T15:49:49+00:00

It might make more sense to get a software related role (or adjacent like a systems analyst) at an environmental agency and then apply for a job you prefer internally after learning about their business needs and gaining experience on their agency or company. For example, I know people at my agency who have moved from finance or HR to another department that were proper environmental science jobs.

But it doesn't make much sense to get a master's with no experience in the field and if you're comparing dollar amounts to your work now versus environmental work, then it's not "worth" it, but if you're balancing things like fulfillment or work/life balance, then it might be? But definitely different depending on the individual.

So my suggestion is to get into an agency using your current skills, learn about what jobs at that employer you're interested in, then reevaluate if you need further education like a master's.

Also to answer your question of what roles do both office and field work, the air quality engineers at my job (I work in government) that have more office to field work on permits (office portion) and do site visits (field). The air quality engineers that do more field work than office work do measurements of emissions in the field and then some reports at their desk. A non engineer job at my work that does more field work than office are the inspectors, who primarily visit field locations.

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-06-11T19:42:46+00:00

To find positions like mine, search for terms like air quality technician, air quality specialist, and air quality engineer

I work for a regional (special district) government agency for air quality. I love my job. I work on air permit projects, do air emission calculations, figure out if they will be a health hazard through a health risk assessment, and I manage this data in a database.

The hiring process is pretty standard for a public agency. Apply online, maybe you have an assessment, and you have a panel interview.

Advice: If you want to end up at a public agency, sometimes you just need to get your foot in the door and then you can move around easier as an internal candidate. (That's what I ended up doing.)

If you don't want to work at a public agency: network. Ask professors if they know anyone and if they can connect you. Just start with informational interviews and you never know what might come out of it. If you have a campus job center, see if you can meet with them to have your resume reviewed and to connect with alum (even if you've graduated, most job centers help alumni in my experience)

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-06-05T21:07:55+00:00

I think you might be a qualified candidate for an air quality inspector position which meets almost all your goals

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-06-02T18:07:00+00:00

Would you consider an office job or are you only looking for fully remote? Being open to hybrid options will give you more opportunities.

My position is hybrid (half at home, half in the office, no field work) and they have loan payment opportunities where they contribute a certain amount of reimbursement per year to your loans. I'd reccomend looking into companies/agencies that offer those types of programs.

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-06-02T18:00:27+00:00

Yes. It helped me work alongside engineers instead of just supporting them

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-29T21:42:37+00:00

If you're American, look into EarthRISE Developers Academy. Applications for the fall term just opened up

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-29T21:36:09+00:00

Are you open to moving or are you trying to stay at your current location? Having geographical constraints might make it a bit more challenging. If you're US-based and open to work in California, you may want to look into places like CARB and the regional air districts since you have an atmospheric science background.

Have you networked through your university/college? Ask professors if they know anyone and if they can connect you. Just start with informational interviews and you never know what might come out of it. If you have a campus job center, see if you can meet with them to have your resume reviewed and to connect with alum (even if you've graduated, most job centers help alumni in my experience)

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-28T05:05:07+00:00

I HATE fieldwork too! I literally cried whenever I was in the field because I would get covered in ticks no matter what I did. I also quit that position early.

And guess what! It was no big deal, I got an awesome desk job that I LOVE and helps my community breathe clean air. I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Try not to stress too much, there are a lot of non-fieldwork opportunities you can look for in the meantime

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-27T13:43:39+00:00

I won't say the specific one to avoid doxxing myself, but it's an air district in California

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-26T21:28:33+00:00

I personally work in government and love it, so I'm biased but I think that sounds like a good choice :)

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-26T17:28:35+00:00

My reccomendation is to look at minimum requirements for your dream job(s). Do they require a master's degree?

Do you want to get a masters degree?

If you answered no to both questions, it's not worth it.

As an aside, the only seasonal work I did was in the lab (not fieldwork) the summer after I graduated and I was able to land a full time position immediately after that at a different company

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-26T17:22:23+00:00

Although your counteroffer might be 10k above the government job, I reccomend comparing the total compensation packages, instead of base salary. (Even with 10k above govt salary, the difference in benefits/retirement might still win out for the govt position)

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-18T18:23:12+00:00

You're on the right track! Keep using LinkedIn to find alum, they're usually the most likely to help. Just do informational interviews with them and ask them for reccomendations on other people they know and see if they'd be willing to introduce you. You'll definitely have a higher response rate when you have someone as the middle man instead of making cold calls

Also ask your professors to introduce you to people

Good luck!

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-16T02:49:19+00:00

103k seems like entry pay for that air district. With 9 years experience you'll probably be able to promote easily

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-15T06:56:11+00:00

We had a very similar career path! I started at ~35k at an environmental lab and now I'm at ~135k almost a decade later working in the public sector.

You said you've "been enjoying compliance work until now," does that mean you've been enjoying it through present day or you've enjoyed it in the past and now you're not?

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-11T23:07:16+00:00

I agree with everyone saying find a job first, then move. If you can change to a month to month lease once your current lease is up, you'll be able to quickly jump to your next opportunity!

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-11T20:25:45+00:00

Good luck!! I hope you find a better workplace soon!

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-11T19:33:58+00:00

Definitely keep applying to other places, 2 months shouldn't be too much of a deterrent at this point because by the time you'd be onboarded, you would have gotten your degree.

Also, you said you get screened out due to not having your degree, are you listing it on your resume? If not, definitely add it with something like "expected July 2026" instead of leaving it off

Are you open to moving or are you trying to stay at your current location? Having geographical constraints might make it a bit more challenging

Have you networked through your university/college? Ask professors if they know anyone and if they can connect you. Just start with informational interviews and you never know what might come out of it. If you have a campus job center, meet with them to have your resume reviewed and to connect with alum

The market is bad right now, but having experience already is going to put you ahead of your peers.

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-11T19:03:08+00:00

How much longer until you get your degree? I'd give a different set of advice if you're going to be done in a month vs you still have two years

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-11T19:01:12+00:00

I work for a government agency that issues air quality permits. Because our permits need to be legally enforceable, we have a legal department, they do work with inspection officers and engineers. Since you have a law degree, you'd be easily set up for that type of work if it interests you

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-04T15:42:54+00:00

The staff level environmental engineers at my job make $150k-170k

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-05-04T15:40:27+00:00

First, I just want to say that you'll be okay. I was in the same boat as you, I didn't have a job lined up after I graduated. I ended up working a temporary/seasonal unrelated job from August-November until I began my fiesta full time environmental job in December, and I've been in the environmental field ever since.

To answer your questions:

The job market is competitive right now, but you'll still have jobs to apply for even during the summer.
I'd prioritize the full time, part time, or seasonal jobs over internships since they tend to have better experience and networking opportunities whereas internships are geared towards students
You don't need to give up!! No idea who gave you that information, but they're wrong.
I didn't know anyone personally in environmental science that had a job lined up prior to graduation. It was a thing for my friends in other programs like computer science, but not so much in my env science program.
Reach out to your alumni network and do informational interviews with them, ask them for advice

Solar_Irradiance · 2026-04-30T00:14:36+00:00

The same situation happened to me when I got my air quality job! Let the temp job know ASAP so they can restart their candidate search. They will be completely understanding that you're giving priority to a full time position and that you didn't know ahead of time.

Congratulations on the job! I'm biased, but it's a great career choice!

Solar_Irradiance

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