This article, Green Jobs for Recent Graduates: Make a Sustainable Impact, made an impact on me. I read it and couldn’t stop thinking that when you graduate from Middlebury College you feel armed to take on the world with all your newly acquired skills and competencies from 4-years of liberal arts inquiry and experiential learning. Yet, what our graduates are finding is that in some sectors–especially those that are emerging–the idea of an entry-point is not so obvious. So what our graduates need to do is be both creative and assertive. They need to re-define what the entry-point could look like for employers by being persuasive enough and confident enough to take on projects. They also need to be realistic about what skills are needed in these sectors; perhaps getting LEED certified would provide additional credentials in the green building sector or energy auditor training for the energy efficiency area. Why not approach a start-up firm or new energy efficiency company with the willingness to start lower on the totem-pole but exhibit the willingness to take on new training and rise through the ranks (sounds old fashion, right?).
Your liberal arts degree will not be put on a back-burner. Instead you will be using your skills in a new context–whether it’s in a classroom or working on green building design–your ability to identify and tackle problems critically, your ability to get diverse groups of people to work together, or your ability to synthesize, analyze and execute will always be put to the test in a world that is constantly pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone.
So if you want to explore some of these interesting green careers, check out the right-side resources on this CCG Blog under “Environment Jobs/Internship Resources” or check out our EIA Career Library. Of course, you should also feel free to drop by EIA Career Services to meet with a counselor to discuss your ideas.