Want A Sustainable Future With Financial Comfort? Look No Further!
Most young people brought up in the 21st century have developed a deep understanding and appreciation of the urgency that climate change has created in our lives. While we feel relatively educated on how serious and disastrous the situation is, we have not been encouraged or supported to think positively about our future or how to make a difference. We feel anxious, stressed and relatively aimless when it comes to piecing together a plan for ‘the rest of our lives’, especially when the question of a career is brought up.
When I joined sixth form, I already knew what I wanted to do as a career, environmental politics. While my school was very hands-on - a selective grammar where students were pressured above normal to get perfect grades - they didn’t give much advice on the careers available to someone with my passions. We were simply instructed on what Universities were appropriate for us, with a serious focus on rankings and prestiges. After many months of internet scouring to find my perfect degree, I stumbled upon ‘Politics and International Studies with Global Sustainable Development’. While most degrees are simply focused on one discipline, this degree is both a BA and a BSC, perfect for people like me who are passionate but slightly scatterbrained! It has only been around for four years, and is one of the many new environmentally targeted degrees which are emerging in response to the climate emergency.
The future of green degrees
There are many more degrees like this one popping up; but I’d love to see sustainability and climate integrated into all degrees of the future. Seeing as the climate crisis is a systemic challenge, symptomatic of a broken financial system; backwards business models; short-term politics; and destructive industries like food and fashion; I don’t see why all degrees wouldn’t be intersectional, and designed to empower young people to take action on the climate crisis. Not to mention that ‘Green Jobs’ pay on average 10-20% more than other jobs, with the wage gap between women and men shown to be much less significant in this field.
If you’re a young person fresh out of school, trying to navigate your next steps, let’s take a look at the pathways available to you.
Sustainability education outside of a degree
You might be keen on gaining a degree. Attending university can be a great way to discover your passions, get clear on which problems in the world you want to tackle, and cultivate the skills to tackle them. A degree can also be a secure way to show employers that you’re an educated and hard working individual. However, degrees aren’t the only way to gain this experience - or demonstrate your commitment to a field.
If university doesn’t appeal to you there are many other options available; degree apprenticeships, diplomas, college courses and internships are all similarly viable ways to gain qualifications. Even if you’re not keen on a degree, there are lots of other forms of education in environmental fields. Many colleges offer environmental diplomas, while a number of sustainably focused companies now offer trainee places and degree apprenticeships.
In fact, 90% of a degree apprenticeship is subsidised by the government - which has made them an attractive way for businesses to scout and retain new talent.
Some of the best places to look for environmental/sustainable (non-degree) qualifications include The Open University, The New Skills Academy, The Find Apprenticeship Service (through the gov. website), and UCAS, which also has lots of apprenticeships to look through.
Choosing a degree
If you decide a degree is for you, it’ll be worth asking yourself if you’re more interested in the humanities, sciences or both. Sustainable degrees are usually split 50/50 between humanities and sciences so it’s important to know your interests and keep your passions in focus when choosing your degree. Imagine yourself in your perfect career - ‘green’ or not - and then consider if there are any sustainable ways to work in that profession. For example, if you’re interested in architecture and design, you could look at degrees which include both architecture and sustainability - such as ‘Environmental Architecture’. This degree would open up positions like landscape design, urban design, city planning and much more. If fashion is your thing, the University of the Arts London has its own Centre for Sustainable Fashion with an accompanying degree. Consider the roles your degree will open to you in the future and see if they resonate with you before committing.
I considered listing some environmental degrees when planning this article but, thinking back to when I applied to uni, I remember seeing lists as more of a turn-off than a help due to their rigidity. Instead I’d like to offer some advice for picking a sustainable degree that excites you:
Don’t be afraid to speak to other students.
One thing that helped me choose my degree was speaking to other students completing that same course. You can simply ask academic staff for contact info for a student or two completing your course of interest. I was amazed how kind and generous older students were with their time and advice. You should feel that you understand the degree before accepting any offers.
Research!
There are lots of great websites where you can search for a degree to see the student satisfaction rate, the jobs students go into and the yearly salary of post-graduates. TheUniGuide is a great place to begin looking at degrees. From there you should consider booking onto a taster session to get a feel for the teaching style and to speak to faculty to discover more about how the University plans to support you once you’ve finished your course.
Giving yourself the space to make a decision
Completing a degree can be exciting and fulfilling if you make well-informed decisions. You’ve already shown a great level of foresight and environmental consciousness by looking at your future with a focus on sustainability. The most important thing, however, is to not get bogged down by anxiety when making important decisions about your career and education. While the environment needs greater care now more than ever, it’s just as important to take care of yourself too. You shouldn’t jump into a sustainability or ‘green’ career from a place of pressure, or urgency - but because it’s a space that energises and fulfills you.
The green economy will continue to grow throughout the next few decades as governments start placing the climate crisis at the forefront of their agendas, and investing in Green New Deals. Now is the perfect time to invest in your future by looking through these open-minded, world-questioning degrees and careers-paths. I very much hope that you find a course, or apprenticeship or diploma or job which helps you create change in the world, and in yourself, that is sustainable.
