Author: greendgr1
As people become more and more concerned with the environment, industries are
also following that path, and they need people trained in environmental issues.
In the past, economic markets produced job opportunities that led to one degree
or another being the credential to have in order to secure a high paying job.
For instance, prior to the slowdown in the oil market, particularly before the
1980s, engineers of all types could expect high paying jobs in the oil industry
or those companies serving the industry. In the 1990s people with degrees in
computer science were so much in demand that the United States had to look
overseas to fill its insatiable demand. The next hot degree of the future may
indeed be the green degree.
For the last decade or so the number of
people pursuing degrees in environmental science has steadily grown and
continues to do so. But the number of degrees considered "green" has moved
beyond just environmental science. Indeed it has moved beyond the sciences. Now
other occupations such as business, law, and public policy require people with
specialized training in environmental issues. Many analysts predict that soon
most university programs within the sciences, business, political science, and
other fields will offer green degrees or at least special concentrations in
environmental concerns.
The need for and popularity of green degrees
isn't due only to the public's rising concern for the welfare of the
environment. Government regulations are also a big driving factor in the need
for experts on environmental issues. For each piece of environmental legislation
that is considered experts must be consulted. And because so much of our current
thinking on conservation is rapidly evolving, the areas considered as
environmental in nature are expanding, and the number of niche areas of
expertise are rising exponentially. Whereas ten years ago a single degree in
environmental science might have qualified a person for a hundred different
jobs, now there are perhaps a hundred different specialties within the larger
field on environmental science. Most university officials and industry analysts
expect this trend to continue and even accelerate.
And it isn't just in
the consulting or drafting phase of legislation that will require environmental
experts. Once additional environmental laws are in place to govern industry,
companies will have to ensure that they are in compliance with the new laws, and
they will require the knowledge of an expert, a person with a green degree.
These experts won't be only of the legal profession. In order for companies to
ensure that their operations are well within the guidelines of future
environmental legislation without incurring undue costs due to changing ways of
operating, they will need an array of people trained in environmental concerns
to help with both day-to-day and long-term strategic planning.
With the
growing fixation on environmental conservation as a means to correct some past
societal wrongdoings and as a means to prevent future ones, we may not be far
away from a world where every occupation has an environmental component. We
already have the specialists in environmental science. One day we may even have
green bankers, green lawyers, and green insurance agents. Those with the green
degrees will be standing first in line to reap the rewards.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/science-articles/moving-into-the-future-with-a-green-degree-1074304.html
About
the Author:
Despite opportunities in environmental jobs increasing, the economic slowdown
has translated into increasing economic worries for a large portion of America’s
workforce. A good thing that is forecasted to come out of this economic disaster
is a surge of green jobs that should put more people back to work than
originally were laid off. This is one of the many reasons Green Degree Courses are one of the most sought after tracks
in North America.