Spotlight on:

Geo-environmental Consultant

Alternative title

Average salary

Starter

Experienced

Usual hours

37–39 hours a week, and you could work evenings

Meet Jasmine, a geo-environmental consultant. Here she tells us about her job, how nice it is to work away from a desk, and tips to break into the environmental sector.

The headlines

Alternative title

Average Salary

Starter

Experienced

Working hours

Usual hours

37–39 hours a week, and you could work evenings

Topics

Health

Climate

Tech

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What does a geo-environmental consultant do?

My job focuses around everything to do with contaminated or polluted land. I work for an international engineering firm with a big range of projects.

As a geo-environmental consultant, I travel quite a bit around the UK and spend lots of time outside.

A main part of my job is going to sites before construction or demolition has started and taking samples of the soil, bedrock and groundwater to test if the ground is contaminated. If the ground is contaminated (which it often is), I then come up with a plan to fix it so that it’s safe to be disturbed.

How did you get into this career?

When I graduated, I struggled to get into an environmental graduate programme.

But then I managed to get an entry level job with the Environment Agency focused around monitoring Fluorinated gases, which is a particular harmful greenhouse gas.

As soon as I had some relevant work experience I then got accepted into Arcadis's graduate programme (which is where I work now).

What sort of qualifications does someone need to be a geo-environmental consultant?

In my experience (even though they don't always say this in the job advert) you either need a master’s degree in a relevant environmental subject or work experience in the environmental sector.

So if you want to or are doing a bachelor’s degree at uni, I would recommend adding a master’s degree or a placement year working in the environmental sector.

But if university isn't for you, many companies now offer good apprenticeships which could be another way into this field.

Other than qualifications, what do you need to do this job?

To work in this job, you must be strongly committed to anti-discriminatory and equality work. You must also be able to develop and deliver innovative events attended by a diverse range of people.

Other than qualifications, what do you need to do this job?

A keen interest and passion in protecting the environment and human health is important as it’s the driving force behind all our work. You will also need to like being outdoors in all kinds of weather and travelling around the country.

What’s the most rewarding thing about your job?

The best part is how varied my workload is. I wanted a job that wasn't just sitting at a desk all day and this job has a good 50/50 split of desk and site-based work. Each project I work on has its own environmental challenges which keeps things interesting.

What’s the most challenging thing about your job?

It can be quite scientifically technical at times. I’ve been in my job for 14 months now and I’m still learning so much everyday.

But by no means do you need to be great at academia to do my job! Through my graduate scheme, my employer Arcadis has taught me almost everything I need to know.

What do you wish you’d known when you were starting out?

That a bachelor's degree isn't necessarily enough anymore for this kind of job. If I could go back I would have done an integrated masters. (That’s a uni course where your bachelor’s degree and your master’s degree are combined.)

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Geo-environmental Consultant

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Geo-environmental Consultant

Got any questions?Head to our Discord and join the conversation.

Follow us

Don't know what you want to do? We'll help you find a career you can care about.

Got any questions?
Head to our Discord and join the conversation.