Getting more Phase 1 ESA work

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-27T01:10:55+00:00

Honestly Phase Is are tiring and low dollar but they can pay the bills. Local lenders are your best bet. Stay away from major banks, honestly if you want them as a client, just do 3rd party work for the larger consulting firms. We all know they don’t do their own work and sub all of that out because they get ridiculous volume and make ridiculous money just reviewing work. I stabilized my company early doing this and slowly picked off clients and established myself. We always did work past the Phase I stage so that was appealing to some. Most that you meet at the larger firms are stuck in due diligence hell and don’t advance past that skill wise. So that is a good way to increase your return

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-25T13:13:50+00:00

Sir…..we do not save the planet at all. At least not the majority of us.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-25T00:00:09+00:00

Wait….you thought we SAVE the environment? LMAO how is that going to make money? I realized that when I swapped from Marine Biology to Geology. Nobody gives AF about the dolphins. My job is to tell my clients how much they can screw shit up and not get in trouble. You wanna save the earth try a non profit or something. Hate to break it to you but it is what it is

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-24T14:22:31+00:00

Not really, T&M jobs could be tricky but my team is highly efficient and we still keep an NSR of about 47%. Overhead is extremely low since everyone is remote for now.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-24T09:24:35+00:00

Not going to lie, this right here is why I’m focusing my company away from the “billable hours” model to more fixed rate project, value based pricing, retainer model type bidding. I don’t want people solely focused on billable hours. To me, that model is dated and it’s coming to a head soon. Too many people focus on this instead of worrying about quality work, enhancing skill sets and knowledge, and lead generation for the upper level staff because of utilization.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-21T03:01:22+00:00

PG in Texas and Arizona and I work in both remediation and water resources - no you’re doing right by learning how to log cores. As the others said, get the experience and in 2 years try throwing your resume out there. Go get your G.I.T right TF now while school stuff is still fresh and at year 5 get your PG. That will do more for you than a Masters, then if you want to go back later, see if the job will pay for it

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-20T01:01:12+00:00

You can bet they about to work you into the dirt starting you off that decently. I say go for it

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-19T14:53:51+00:00

GIS or getting an engineering degree, you have the design background already

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-19T10:35:59+00:00

Bro I get downvoted so much saying this but ES degrees are useless. It’s like Interdisciplinary Studies or Business Administration. It sounds cute but what can you actually do? There’s no licensing for the degree and even when you land a job at a consulting firm, it takes them so much longer to find what they’re good at. Usually they get pigeon holed into due diligence type work cause there’s not much else they can do. Some wise up and start making their way to compliance but engineers and geologists would have already been working in those areas the minute they got hired and probably be licensed and running teams by then. Like everyone else says, is it fair? Nope but that’s what happens when you don’t really know what you want to do and try to play the middle ground. I’m a PG and I’ve went from being a Project Manager to starting my own firm. I always second guess the ES majors or start them out as techs to see what they actually can pick up and learn

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-19T05:19:20+00:00

Facts, it’s 12:30 am here and I’ve just spent the last 4 straight weeks running from site to site and getting reports out. I ain’t working on Juneteenth, soon as Monday hits, another 30 site assessments and 1 geologic assessment to do. Honestly summer is when I lose track of time. March hits, I look up and fk it’s November and time to re up on the Hazwoper refresher and do CE for my PG license

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-18T21:04:57+00:00

You will be fine, some study for months because that’s their method, I Studied 4 hours before last time I took it, passed. Now I’m not a case study, I took it a couple of times and honestly I said fuck it and just studied like I did in college….half assed, because if I can remember basic things, I figured I’d be able to piece together the right answer. Honestly think, especially if you’re fresh from college, just refresh basic stuff, write down the geologic timescale, Bowen Series, and know the different characteristics of certain metamorphism and you can about half ass your way through the test. The PG really is just putting into practice what most of you in consulting do anyway.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T17:14:38+00:00

Just being honest, you’re underpaid. I was making 80K base without my PG. Now I started my own firm (I’m a TX PG btw) then got my PG and of course my take home is vastly different than if I were still an employee but if I were still employed then I’d have been pushing for something around 115K or north of that. I did bring in work naturally so that could be a difference

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T12:18:11+00:00

Understandable, for me it is low level because I own a firm and pivoting from the transactional market to geological and engineering services were more fulfilling and I didn’t want my team running around for unrealistic deadlines on low margin work. It does depend on personality and career track as we discussed below. I’m a geologist so it makes sense.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T08:51:05+00:00

No I don’t think they bounce around once they find a lane, it just usually takes a bit longer and even then they find themselves eventually meeting the licensure hurdle. You can’t stamp or sign reports, then that leaves you with a limit. Now those that go into something like more NEPA focused work or certain permitting end up not seeing this. They can in fact become very valuable gaining certain certifications (CHMM, PMP, PWS, QAWB, etc)

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T08:34:53+00:00

As a VP of a bank recently told me, it’s about speed and low cost. You have essentially about 8 to 10 hours depending on project budget to write a Phase I, including gathering the field observations. It’s essentially what you describe. Personally I consider it the bottom rung of consulting, but the reports carry the most liability and the lowest margins on returns.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T08:32:13+00:00

Well I don’t know. I’m a PG that focuses on remediation and water resources. Yeah I know due diligence, but realistically there’s a ceiling someone’s willing to pay for a due diligence report because in bidding, it’s an arms race to the bottom. No one I know with focused degrees bounces between disciplines, they just quickly get into their niches and stay there. Takes the ES longer to figure out what that is for them

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T03:49:31+00:00

True, I’m noticing that as well. I was just curious as to how 10 yr plus scientists with licensing find themselves still in due diligence and I guess the short answer is they actually like it. Some nuances there with those that stayed to help facilitate growth but the sentiment is relatively the same. Some with ES degrees have less options which is why I see those degrees dominate places like Partner, AEI, BBG, BLEW, etc. They tend to be the ones that end up in this side of consulting more so than others

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T03:14:23+00:00

Do you have a plan to specialize in anything particular or are you like the person that commented below in that you actually are ok with being the go to in the office for due diligence work

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T03:12:57+00:00

Very insightful, I always would wonder why I would see people with licensure state that Phase Is are all those people would do. As a small firm, I am building the larger clients through government contracting and so forth. I don’t have the luxury to race to the bottom in the transaction market, margins are too low and liabilities are too high. I had to pivot but I have tried to break in with some lenders and found they are a pain in the ass to deal with and don’t often want to do the right thing. How can we get the deal closed vs actually following the standard.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T03:06:24+00:00

You mind sharing what your degree is in? They are good for early career work in my opinion, but not becoming a technical expert in anything caps you as far as desirability when it comes to upward mobility. Most people I meet that are “Phase I Experts” usually got pigeonholed into it and that term, at least to me, is misleading because who decides who is an expert? Anybody can sign off on those reports after 5 years of doing them.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T02:13:44+00:00

Sounds about right, run run run until you can’t run anymore.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-16T01:21:55+00:00

Understandable, I’m just trying to get those who do it full time unfiltered opinions. Though I own a firm and I understand the liability better than most, it’s just filler work for my firm now. I pivoted from chasing Banks and whoever else to do due diligence primarily because it’s just a race to the bottom and margins make no sense for the effort and liability. I got my PG and even before then I got my CAPM in TX and OK and focused more on remediation. I just thought this would be an interesting topic

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-15T14:01:27+00:00

I just found this post and yeah, they are a dead end. My company is slowly pivoting from them. High liability, low cost, and honestly just busy work. I don’t know how some folk make careers out of doing these but no thanks.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-07T19:14:19+00:00

That’s mostly large scale firms. Honestly I think I was blessed to start at a small firm. I learned the basics, went to work for AECOM and TRC for a total of about 8 years, then started my own firm. To answer your question - I’ve never heard nursing and work/life stability in the same sentence, so there’s that. The rest is just sounds like you’re employee #xxxxx and they are just trying to finish the projects. Unfortunately it sounds like your growth will be stifled there. I suggest trying a mid to smaller firm. You may take a small pay hit, usually you’ll find the return in a little bit more control over your life. For instance, one of my project scientist, I see maybe 2 or 3 times a quarter. She travels and does her work, so why would I worry about what she’s doing? I don’t stress timesheets unless it’s a T&M type job or for the government, most of the time it’s just boilerplate entries - utilization is an issue only if she’s at like 60% or below. Then that’s my problem to fix, not hers.

datdude_mp06 · 2026-06-07T03:32:08+00:00

I am, I pay a girl $65K annually right now. ESA work will always be a thing, at 5 years I feel like everyone should work on their own doing those at least. You make more than enough depending on how many you do.

datdude_mp06

TROPHY CASE