1. Environmental Careers Air & Waste Management Association August 19, 2010

2. A&WMA Overview  The core Purpose of A&WMA is to improve environmental knowledge and decision making by providing a neutral forum for exchanging information  Accomplished primarily through environmental education  Student Chapters are a logical first step in promoting this mission

3. Environmental Career Paths  Research  Government Agency  Technical Sales  Industry  Consulting

4. Research  ?  Universities  Non-regulatory government agencies  Can be cyclical (grant-driven)

5. Regulatory Agencies  Can be Federal, State or Local  Typically have departments grouped by media (air, water, waste, emergency response)  Common jobs include: Permit writing Enforcement Inspections Monitoring

6. Regulatory Agencies (cont’d.)  Pros: Lower stress (9-5 workday) Can provide long term job security Good benefits  Cons: Lower pay Bureaucracy Advancement can be slow

7. Technical Sales  Examples include: Pollution control equipment Water treatment chemicals  Pros: High pay potential Meet many people Travel  Cons: Must be a “salesperson” to be successful Travel Performance driven

8. Industry  Work for a manufacturing company  Can be plant or corporate level  Deal with day to day environmental issues  Pros: Typically deal with multi-media issues Can become an “expert” in that industry Opportunity for advancement into management Pay typically medium to high depending on size of company

9. Industry (cont’d.)  Cons: Pay can be lower at small companies Job can be at risk if business is down (not a “profit center” for company) Lack of diversity (deal with same issues day after day) Plants can be in remote locations

10. Consulting  Provide environmental services to industry  2 general areas: Regulatory Compliance Environmental due diligence (site assessments & remediation)  Typically provide services on an hourly rate basis

11. Consulting (cont’d.)  Pros: Get to see a wide variety of processes and issues Higher pay with more experience Solve people’s problems  Cons: Pressure to be “billable” Can involve long hours/travel