Careers in Environmental Sciences

Our graduates represent a number of subdisciplines in which you can be trained and generally find gainful employment across the spectrum of job sectors. 

Academia/Postdoc

Several of our graduates have taken post-doctoral training opportunities immediately after graduating in such areas as ecology and evolution, climate and hydrological modeling, aquatic biogeochemistry, and nanotoxicology. Post-docs have been taken at such institutions as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Freie Universitat–Berlin, North Carolina State University, Tulane University, Rutgers University, University of Rhode Island, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency laboratory with support of a National Research Council fellowship. The first program graduate to land a faculty position did so in 2012, four years after completing her Ph.D. at Wright State, and now several of our program alumni serve as faculty members at institutions around the world. 

Industry/Consulting

Some graduates with geology/geochemical foci have secured jobs with ExxonMobil and BP. One GIS specialist started her own environmental consulting company, and one graduate in geochemistry has worked for a private consulting/engineering company. Others are employed in water quality and biotechnology industries. 

Government

Several graduates have worked as environmental specialists at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, some of which were facilitated by internship or employment opportunities while enrolled, and one graduate works as an environmental specialist in the sanitary sewer division of the Ohio EPA. One graduate works for the state of Florida as an invasive species assessment coordinator.