Career in Environmental Sustainability or Academia?

August 4, 2021 11:50 AM

Hi. I am at a crossroads with deciding what kind of career to embark on as I am interested in academia but also work in environmental sustainability/green tech work. Would it be more realistic and practical to forgo a PhD in Political Science or History and instead pursue a Master's in Environmental Sustainability to find work?

I am keen on academic research and would love to teach and publish in History/Political Science (I am in Canada) but the job market and achievement of securing tenure are brutal I hear. Though I do love researching and learning a lot. Yet, I also have a passion for environmental issues, green tech, vertical farming, organic produce, and environmental policy kind of work.

am kind of torn between focusing on one field over the other (academia vs industry). Honestly, I am so indecisive and cannot decide what path to choose. I know financially it makes sense to pursue something in the environmental industry but at the same time, I like the idea of doing a PhD and researching. But working in the environment industry sounds quite rewarding and financially stable.

Has anyone been in the same boat with this kind of dilemma? Would it be possible to start a small side business in green sustainability while pursuing a PhD? Or would it be best to simply pick one career path?

posted by RearWindow to Work & Money (19 answers total)

What’s your educational background? Your interests seem really diverse, from technology to policy to academic history. These are all very different beasts.

If you’re interested in technology, PhD-level research and industry are certainly not exclusive.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:03 PM on August 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: @mr_roboto I am in my fourth year Honours in Political Science and Sociology with a Minor in History.
posted by RearWindow at 12:12 PM on August 4, 2021

Would it be more realistic and practical to forgo a PhD in Political Science or History and instead almost anything? Generally yes. I would suggest talking to some graduate students and sitting in on some graduate seminars. And you can apply to graduate school and see what happens. I would not recommend doing a Ph.D. in these fields (especially history) unless you get a fully funded offer from a great university (by "great" i mean something like: there might be two great programs in Canada). I don't know if a "side business" is really feasible when pursuing a Ph.D. for the purpose of getting a faculty job. The other students will be spending that time on their academic work. If you are attracted to research and teaching, you might think about whether you can spin your employment background into admission to a Ph.D. in environmental science or something like that (I don't know what field it would be).
posted by melamakarona at 12:34 PM on August 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

I don't know what it's like for those fields in Canada, but in the U.S., for the grad programs I'm familiar with (policy/business/economics), it's generally a good idea to work before grad school, because the programs prefer it; because it helps you to learn what you want to do; and because it gives you a break from being a full-time student. Can you get a job in environmental field? (If it's feasible, you could also continue part-time political science studies, whether formally or informally.) If you find you can't bear to be away from academic political science/history, then you can apply after a year or two. Otherwise, you'll have a better idea of what sort of career you want and can choose the appropriate graduate program (or maybe even find that you don't need to go back to school).
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:49 PM on August 4, 2021 [7 favorites]

It seems like your background would lend really easily to environmental policy graduate programs. I definitely repeat the urging to consider working in related areas first. Again, consider looking for environmental policy adjacent work to gain experience and make sure you don't hate it.
posted by hydropsyche at 12:59 PM on August 4, 2021 [2 favorites]

I'd be glad to offer my perspective after 20 years in the environmental sector. I've got a master's degree in natural resources management, through more environmental sustainability-type program (U of Michigan) as compared to a more "traditional" school (for example, forestry from Michigan State). Historically, environmental jobs seem to fall into one of two camps -- corporate environmental/sustainability (higher paying, more options, more stability, possible role in advancing greenwashing) or nonprofit/government (extremely competitive, working for peanuts, mission-focused, tons of temporary work, fewer options for career advancement). I went the second route, and I've finally in the last three years found a leadership role with actual benefits and stability. But, I spent about 17 years hopping between temporary gigs, part-time work, contractual work, and short-term grants. It was very rewarding, I learned tons, and it gave me great flexibility while my kids were little. If you can stomach the uncertainty, it can lead to lots of opportunities for interesting, meaningful work.

As far as emerging trends in sustainability go, I have an observation that might impact your "should I do both?" question. As climate and environmental work begin to be seen as an integral part of many fields, I think we're seeing new opportunities. It's as if there's an environmental or sustainability overlap now in a million new Venn diagrams -- health systems, food, urban planning, transportation, marketing, education, product design, law, spirituality, politics, tech... you name it. If you're savvy, you can find a niche and continue to carve it out for yourself. There are so many exciting new developments in this field. Good luck!
posted by hessie at 1:16 PM on August 4, 2021 [6 favorites]

+1 find a job. It doesn’t sound like you have a specific enough plan to go to grad school and make the most of it, and working rather than going straight through school will allow you to pick up other useful things, like what the job market is like, what kind of work you enjoy, and how to behave in a professional environment. I have a PhD that was funded and that I thought was in a marketable area (STEM) and I was very wrong. More work experience first would have given me a better idea what skills I needed to get the jobs I wanted (and also that those jobs are increasingly rare).

Grad school will still be there in a couple years. If you get lucky, maybe you’ll even have an employer who will help you pay for it!
posted by momus_window at 1:26 PM on August 4, 2021 [5 favorites]

I would really advise talking to some grad students. As a History PhD in a top program in the US there was absolutely no way I could have had a side anything because the time/energy commitment was pretty high. In fact, I don't remember if it was an actual rule or just strongly encouraged that we pursue no outside, non-academic employment opportunities, because being a PhD student in a fully-funded program was considered your full time job.

Lots of people have romantic notions about graduate school -- I was one of them, once, and I really wish I'd have had a better perspective on what it actually entails and what lies beyond it. I'm not sure if it would changed anything but I still wish I'd asked more questions.
posted by sm1tten at 1:56 PM on August 4, 2021 [4 favorites]

Higher ed is in a pretty tough place as an industry. Partly this is a demographic issue: Gen Z (current and future college students) is a smaller generation than millennials, so unless a much higher percentage of Gen Z starts going to college, it's going to be years before the population means that higher ed can grow again. Small colleges in the US have been closing for the past few years, and I think Canadian and American higher ed tend to have similar outlooks. Public universities and more elite colleges and universities are mostly stable, but many are contracting; the pandemic has thrown everyone for a loop on top of other issues.

I know we don't like to think of higher ed as an "industry," but if you're wanting a job as a professor, which has been a tough gig to get for the past many years, then you need to get yourself into the absolute best program for your field. And I think you should make sure it's an absolute passion and calling, because slogging through a PhD program can be a total grind. And don't just ask your college profs about this; they are the ones who made it, after all, and likely it was many years ago that they were on the job market.

However, given you have an interest in another area, I'd really encourage you to pursue that.
posted by bluedaisy at 2:08 PM on August 4, 2021 [4 favorites]

Higher Ed also has a number of environmental/sustainability positions- if you can swing a job in that sector, tuition remission can fund a part-time graduate degree, though you’d need to work where you’d like your degree. See what “sustainability” yields as a search term on a HERC job posting website.
posted by childofTethys at 3:16 PM on August 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

You will almost certainly not end up teaching and publishing in either history or political science. As a mature student, spending several years in a PhD program is probably not the best use of your time, if you can stand to do anything else. The opportunity cost is truly massive and is likely to damage your long-term financial security.

Really, I think you should aim to get a job (eg in environmental industry) when you graduate and see whether or not you want to build a career in that area while someone is paying you a real salary and you are learning work-related skills. You can go back and get a masters later, if it's something you really need.
posted by plonkee at 3:24 PM on August 4, 2021 [4 favorites]

History professor here. +1 to job in environmental sustainability/green tech/anything other than graduate school in history and political science. You're getting good advice here and I'll try not to repeat it too much, but please don't (1) underestimate the opportunity cost of going in to a doctoral program in order to enter a career that is, in a deep, lasting, decades-long crisis and is probably, frankly, going the way of the dodo and (2) underestimate how time consuming graduate school is. There is no time for any side hustle. Graduate school will kill your hobbies or alternate interests, I guarantee it, and it's not just that there's no guarantee of a job, it's more like you're almost guaranteed *not* to find a job, or if you do, it will be beyond precarious. Go look at the latest stats from the American Historical Association. They're ... sobering. If this sounds dire and alarmist, that's because the situation is dire and alarming.

I am a dinosaur, and the meteor is clearly visible. Do not go to dinosaur school.
posted by pleasant_confusion at 3:41 PM on August 4, 2021 [13 favorites]

All respect to hessie above, but there is a third track, which is environmental consulting. Not in-house, but contracted environmental work supporting both private sector and public sector organizations. Sometimes this is done by small boutique shops, sometimes by major A/E firms. Someone who can write and research and has a background in environmental policy or environmental science would be a good candidate for that kind of work.
posted by suelac at 10:06 PM on August 4, 2021

I did a PhD in environmental studies. I'm not a big fan of academia because it's basically a cult which uses the labor and energy of young people as currency in what's effectively a power/prestige pyramid scheme. Capitalism is terrible too of course, so it's not like there's a great answer out there, but, people's lives tended to improve when they left academia. A master's sounds like an okay idea if it's practically focused and you have some plans for career options. Just don't get sucked in and transition to a PhD - you'll lose 6 years of your life before you know it.
posted by PercussivePaul at 10:07 PM on August 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

Another person with a history PhD chiming in to strongly discourage you from getting a PhD in any humanities program unless you can see a clear path to a non-academic job. For example, I know a few art history PhDs who used their free time (mostly in the summers) to intern at art museums, who eventually secured jobs at art museums. But I don't see this in your case, so you're much better off applying to jobs. If a few years down the road it becomes clear that getting a masters will improve your ability to advance in your career, you can always get one later.
posted by coffeecat at 8:54 AM on August 5, 2021 [1 favorite]

My boyfriend has a PhD and is still on the academic track as a STEM Post-doc. He advises for no one to pursue a PhD for anything other than the experience. In other words, does the experience bring enough worth to you by itself?
posted by randomquestion at 11:32 AM on August 5, 2021 [1 favorite]

Speaking as the partner of somebody who finished her PhD in Political Science at an elite Ivy League school - do not pursue academia.
posted by youthenrage at 7:08 PM on August 5, 2021 [1 favorite]

A little bit more info - my partner was contractually precluded from working anywhere but her university, even though she was paid starvation wages for the city that we live in. Of her cohort of a dozen or so people, I only know of two who got academic positions last year, a couple more went on fellowship to do more post doc research (another year of starvation wages and another year of opportunity costs) and the rest are split between mostly data science stuff in private industry and pursuing completely unrelated careers. I would bet that almost none of them would recommend that ANYBODY pursue a PhD in Political Science, and I want to stress that this is an ELITE Ivy League program. And almost nobody could find jobs
posted by youthenrage at 7:15 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]

As someone nearly done a PhD, I stress to everybody that:

1) It's not a good choice just because other options aren't present at the moment

2) It's a brutal, solitary grind which you will need to endure while most people you know don't see the point or can't see why it involves so many hoops

3) It's a pyramid scheme. Universities produce far more PhDs than they hire

What I normally say is that you should only do a PhD if you enjoy being in school so much that you are willing to endure a much less financially secure life from then on. Unless you're a top-publishing award-winning superstar you have no chance at an academic career, and in every other field of employment it's better to have the equivalent number of years of work experience than to have a PhD.
posted by sindark at 3:32 PM on August 12, 2021