Career Services

The Nelson Institute offers resources to help students explore, plan, and achieve their goals in finding a career related to the environment.

Career Skills from Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies is about understanding problems from multiple different perspectives, and finding the best ways to approach solutions. Our students are flexible, intelligent, skilled, and eager problem-solvers - all attributes that employers in every field like to see. We're here to help you find ways to connect the skills you learn through environmental studies, and the Liberal Arts in general, to a meaningful career path.

Career Skills from Liberal Arts

In a poll of private employers from several different fields and industries, respondents highlighted their desire to see workers with the following strengths:

• Critical Thinking/Analytical Reasoning
• Ability to Analyze and Solve Problems
• Effective Oral and Written Communication
• Ability to Apply Knowledge to Real-World Situations
• Ability to Evaluate Information from Multiple Sources
• Ability to Innovate and Be Creative
• Ability to Connect Choices and Actions to Ethical Decisions

It's important to not understate the impact liberal arts has on your career preparation. The beauty of your degree is that you will be able to use your skills - your excellent writing abilities, your research skills, your understanding of reliable vs. unreliable sources - to make you a better professional whether you choose a career in environmental studies or something completely unrelated.

"So what exactly do we mean by liberal education, and why do we care so much about it?... one very simple answer to my question is that liberally educated people have been liberated by their education to explore and fulfill the promise of their own highest talents." - William Cronon ("Only Connect..." The Goals of a Liberal Education)