What early career professionals with interests in sustainability work need to know about the industry and overcoming barriers to entry.
When I reflect on my career of more than 17 years in the sustainability sector, I realize I have made some unusual choices. I have changed my pathway at four distinct milestones of my career, from a precious metals chemist, to a narcotics drug distributor, to a water industry analyst, to a sustainability program manager. I have picked up many career strategies along the way that I am happy to share with anyone who will listen – especially those aspiring to join the sustainability sector.
Serving as a mentor to early career sustainability professionals over the past five years, I have worked to provide a reassuring perspective that being uncertain about one’s career path is not necessarily a bad thing. Whether you are working with a young professional seeking to move up the sustainability industry ladder, a newcomer navigating the competitive landscape in the environmental sector or a recent graduate interested in corporate social responsibility, these learnings can help inform career development conversations.
Evolution of the sustainability industry
A decade ago, the sustainability industry – as it is defined today – did not exist. Sustainability was a terminology embedded into the notion of corporate social responsibility. New graduates and young professionals did not have an academic avenue to learn how to become a sustainability industry professional, which resulted in a resource gap of qualified industry professionals.
Fast-forward to today and sustainability and environmental industry perspectives are at the forefront of a burgeoning sector, one that is now saturated with highly trained professionals. Unfortunately, the industry has yet to adapt to the volume of suitable candidates available. Sustainability departments are still generally quite small within large national/multi-national corporations. More opportunities can be found within non-profits, NGOs and social enterprises, but usually with funding volatility and limited job security. However, I expect opportunities to continue to grow, as organizations are gradually incorporating a variety of sustainability tenets into job descriptions.