miami university

MTSC Career Options

Environmental Communicator

The following focuses on environmental communication; specifically, it identifies general jobs that environmental communicators can hold. It also describes the work environment, advantageous qualifications and skills, estimated earnings, outlook and trends, and hyperlinks to environmental communication Web sites.

Overview of Environmental Communication

Environmental communication, a specialized and important field of technical communication, is rapidly growing; its members are dedicated to furthering environmental science—the study of human and environmental interactions. Interest in environmental communication has grown out of the struggle to protect the Earth’s natural resources and to preserve overall biosphere quality. Not only does environmental communication offer an array of jobs, it also allows environmental communicators to share two common goals: to increase the public’s environmental awareness and to promote the global environmental movement.

According to Melinda Spencer in her 1998 article, “Writing for the Environmental Sciences,” environmental communicators are likely to enter into one of the following professions:

Technical Editor/Writer – A technical editor/writer’s job focuses on proofreading and clarifying environmental communication documents such as environmental impact statements and corporate environmental reports. Advanced technical editors/writers are often involved in preparing multimedia presentations such as creating informative Web sites about environmental conservation. At all levels, technical editors/writers spend a lot of time collaborating with authors. Technical editors/writers are likely to work for the government, industry, consulting firms, environmental organizations, and the news media.

Community Relations and Risk Communications Specialists – Community relations and risk communication specialists act as third-party liaisons among community, government, and industry. They must understand health-related aspects of environmental issues and objectively disseminate that information to the public. Likewise, they must relay the public’s concerns regarding environmental risk to industry and government. Community relations specialists are likely to work for government agencies or consulting firms.

Environmental Educator – Environmental educators are primarily concerned with increasing public environmental awareness. They should have a technical background in a science specialty area such as forest management. They can choose from a variety of job settings, including bringing environmental issues to teachers in school districts and to the general public in museums, zoos, nature centers, ecotourism groups, and civic groups. They can also help to educate legislators who have an influence in regulatory and federal agencies.

Environmental Journalist – Environmental journalists spend a lot of time researching all perspectives of environmental issues and presenting their findings to the public in as unbiased a manner as possible. Because environmental issues arise daily, it is an environmental journalist’s duty to stay abreast of environmental issues by attending conferences, touring facilities, and conducting interviews. Environmental journalists are likely to work for newspapers, magazines, professional associations, and television and radio stations.

Grant and Proposal Writer –Grant writers are responsible for winning research money for organizations. Proposal writers are responsible for acquiring clients for their organization. Both grant and proposal writers strive to highlight the strengths and capabilities of their organizations. Grant writers are likely to work for environmental organizations, universities and public facilities such as parks. Proposal writers are likely to work for consulting firms.

Public Information Officers – Public information officers are responsible for explaining the environmental decisions/actions of their organization to the public and media. Specifically, they try to anticipate public and media reaction to their organization’s environmental decisions, and they try to help the public and media understand these decisions. They are likely to work for any of the aforementioned organizations.

Work Environment

Though the environmental communication work environment varies from job to job, The Best and Worst Jobs by Les Krantz (1999) ranked the technical communication field as 14th out of the 250 most desirable jobs according to criteria such as income, stress, physical demands, and potential growth. Therefore, stress and physical demands are generally low while the potential for growth is increasing. However, anyone who enters the environmental communication field needs to be prepared to handle a fast-paced and semi-transient lifestyle. Environmental issues regularly pop-up all over the globe, and it may be the communicator’s duty to get to the location of the “problem,” if possible, so that the most unbiased and factual information can be obtained. Furthermore, environmental communicators must be equipped to handle responsibility—the fate of an endangered species could rest in their hands. Regardless, environmental communicators tend to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives because they play a part in helping to alleviate environmental crises while fighting for a cause in which they sincerely believe.

Qualifications and Skills

Necessary qualifications and skills vary depending upon the environmental communication job. However, it is advantageous to have a bachelor’s degree in technical and scientific communication, or a closely related field, such as English. Also, environmental communicators with a secondary concentration in the environmental or biological sciences will probably find a job more easily. Beyond these qualifications, companies often look for two to five years of work experience or a Master’s degree. Having volunteer experience can also be beneficial. Therefore, work experience, usually in the form of an internship, is crucial to acquiring a job as an environmental communicator.

Moreover, prospective environmental communicators should possess many of the following skills to be successful: writing, editing, handling responsibility, teamwork, observing, analyzing, interpreting, researching, coordinating, managing activities, multi-tasking, and public speaking.

Estimated Earnings

Environmental communicators’ earnings vary depending on the organization. The following are median salaries for three different levels of work experience:

Outlook and Trends

Environmental communication is constantly changing, and the public continually demands a more central role in the legislative decision-making process. Consequently, the environmental communication field will continue to grow as long as the public remains a stakeholder in environmental issues.

Regardless of the environmental communication job you wish to enter, if you appreciate the environment, join the fight to help save it by becoming an environmental communicator.

Resources

The following are Web sites that will provide further information about the field of environmental communication.

Works Cited