Name: What kind of jobs can I get in sustainability?
Uploaded: 2023-05-30T12:03:01.767Z
Duration: 350.56

What kind of jobs can I get_FINAL.mp4

What kind of jobs can I get in sustainability_FINAL.vtt

English

{{00:00:00}}
Hi, my name's Ben Wielgus and for
the last 20 years I've had the

{{00:00:03}}
pleasure of working in sustainability.

{{00:00:06}}
One of the questions I often get asked is: 'what
kinds of jobs can I do in sustainability?' That

{{00:00:11}}
comes from graduates, people in school, people
who are already halfway through their career, and

{{00:00:16}}
even people who are looking for a career change.

{{00:00:26}}
So what I wanted to do today is just share with
you six areas you can work in sustainability.

{{00:00:31}}
So if you're interested in this field, you can
think about which might be most suitable for you.

{{00:00:41}}
So the first area you could work in
sustainability is the most obvious,

{{00:00:44}}
and that's working for charities.

{{00:00:46}}
The great thing about working for charities
is you can be really close to the action.

{{00:00:50}}
You can directly see the difference you're making
in the world, and it's quite easy to get into

{{00:00:55}}
charity work because you can start off being
a volunteer or you can start an entry grade.

{{00:01:00}}
The challenges of it tend to be
that it's often contractual work.

{{00:01:03}}
The salary and reward isn't brilliant, and some
charities tend to have a degree of, of politics or

{{00:01:08}}
frustration because they can't do as much as they
want to do because they're so reliant on funding.

{{00:01:17}}
That leads really nicely into the second area
that you can get a job in sustainability,

{{00:01:21}}
and that's working for governments.

{{00:01:23}}
This is really different and really
similar to working for charities.

{{00:01:27}}
In governments, you are probably really far
from the action and it takes a long time to

{{00:01:32}}
have any successes, but when you do, they
can literally change economies and how we

{{00:01:37}}
support hundreds of millions of people or
really protect large areas in the environment.

{{00:01:42}}
So it can be enormously fulfilling, but
it can also be a slow burn and something

{{00:01:46}}
you have, have a lot of patience for.

{{00:01:53}}
Okay, so the third area that you can get a
job in sustainability is in the private sector

{{00:01:58}}
and working for technical consultancies.

{{00:02:01}}
This is often where people go when they
have a degree in engineering or in the

{{00:02:04}}
sciences because it involves you being a
deep subject matter expert in everything.

{{00:02:09}}
As varied as impact assessments on the
environment, designing wind power plants

{{00:02:14}}
for the best efficiency, conducting
nature surveys, or looking at a whole

{{00:02:19}}
range of different specialist topics.

{{00:02:22}}
Lots and lots of company work in
this space, including Enviros, DMV,

{{00:02:27}}
ERM, Atkins, architectural firms.

{{00:02:29}}
It's quite easy to find them by looking
on the internet, and if you want to be

{{00:02:33}}
one of the world's experts in a particular
issue, they're a great place to go.

{{00:02:37}}
You always need to be at
the forefront of your field.

{{00:02:40}}
You've got to be continually learning, but there
is a risk that after a while you become siloed.

{{00:02:45}}
And that works really well for some
people and is challenging you for

{{00:02:48}}
others where they want more variety.

{{00:02:50}}
And again, if you want to really
know you've designed the best

{{00:02:52}}
possible solution to a sustainability
challenge, they're a great place to go.

{{00:03:00}}
So the fourth area that people can work in
sustainability is probably one of my personal

{{00:03:04}}
favorites, the boutique consultancies.

{{00:03:07}}
There's thousands of different
ones around the world.

{{00:03:09}}
They're all really diverse from each other.

{{00:03:11}}
And the great thing is they love new graduates and
new starters who can just get their hands dirty,

{{00:03:16}}
get stuck in and take a lot of responsibility,
but the cultures can be incredibly varied and the

{{00:03:21}}
training and development is not always amazing.

{{00:03:24}}
So you need to think about how
you develop a career in them.

{{00:03:27}}
The diversity of the boutique consultancies
is one of the things that appeals to a

{{00:03:30}}
lot of people because you can do things as
varied as modern slavery assessments, supply

{{00:03:35}}
chain work, diversity inclusion strategies,
carbon footprinting communications programs.

{{00:03:41}}
No matter what your degree and your background
and your experience, there's a sustainability

{{00:03:45}}
boutique consultancy that'll be looking for your
skills and therefore you can get a job there.

{{00:03:54}}
Number five is similar, but also at the
opposite end of the spectrum, and that's

{{00:03:58}}
working for the really big global consultancy.

{{00:04:01}}
So this is the KPMGs, the PWCs, Accenture,
Bain, McKinsey, because they're all investing

{{00:04:07}}
really heavily in sustainability professionals.

{{00:04:10}}
And again, they're looking
for the best of the best.

{{00:04:12}}
You don't have to be qualified in sustainability
to get a job there because they want transferrable

{{00:04:16}}
skills, but perhaps slightly controversially.

{{00:04:20}}
They're the ones where you have to work
the hardest and to get promoted, you

{{00:04:24}}
have to be able to sell and win work.

{{00:04:26}}
You've gotta keep the customers
happy more than pretty much any other

{{00:04:29}}
space that you're gonna be working.

{{00:04:31}}
Um, I spent a lot of my career in one
of these companies and it gave me a

{{00:04:34}}
great grounding for working elsewhere.

{{00:04:41}}
Finally, number six, and that's
where I work now, and that's working

{{00:04:46}}
in a sustainability team in-house.

{{00:04:49}}
A lot of people feel this is where they
want to be because you get to work on

{{00:04:52}}
actual products, projects of your own, and
you get a chance to have the reward that

{{00:04:57}}
comes with working with larger businesses.

{{00:05:00}}
The challenge is there's a very finite number
of roles there, and they're often looking

{{00:05:04}}
for people who already have experience.

{{00:05:06}}
So starting off in one of the first five we
talked about in this video often gives you a good

{{00:05:10}}
grounding to move in-house using the experience
and transferable skills you've got there.

{{00:05:18}}
Into the future.

{{00:05:19}}
There's probably gonna be a lot more roles,
whether that's in AI and data science, analyzing

{{00:05:23}}
what's happening in sustainability, whether it's
in the new breed of digital tech startups that

{{00:05:28}}
are helping with sustainability data, or whether
it's in a technology we haven't even seen yet.

{{00:05:33}}
But there's plenty of options for people who
wanna work in sustainability and do work that

{{00:05:37}}
feels like it's purposeful and have meaning.

{{00:05:40}}
I hope this has been helpful.

{{00:05:41}}
Please check out some of the other
videos to see if they're useful to you.

Hi, my name's Ben Wielgus and for
the last 20 years I've had the

One of the questions I often get asked is: 'what
kinds of jobs can I do in sustainability?' That

comes from graduates, people in school, people
who are already halfway through their career, and

even people who are looking for a career change.

So what I wanted to do today is just share with
you six areas you can work in sustainability.

So if you're interested in this field, you can
think about which might be most suitable for you.

So the first area you could work in
sustainability is the most obvious,

The great thing about working for charities
is you can be really close to the action.

You can directly see the difference you're making
in the world, and it's quite easy to get into

charity work because you can start off being
a volunteer or you can start an entry grade.

The challenges of it tend to be
that it's often contractual work.

The salary and reward isn't brilliant, and some
charities tend to have a degree of, of politics or

frustration because they can't do as much as they
want to do because they're so reliant on funding.

That leads really nicely into the second area
that you can get a job in sustainability,

This is really different and really
similar to working for charities.

In governments, you are probably really far
from the action and it takes a long time to

have any successes, but when you do, they
can literally change economies and how we

support hundreds of millions of people or
really protect large areas in the environment.

So it can be enormously fulfilling, but
it can also be a slow burn and something

Okay, so the third area that you can get a
job in sustainability is in the private sector

This is often where people go when they
have a degree in engineering or in the

sciences because it involves you being a
deep subject matter expert in everything.

As varied as impact assessments on the
environment, designing wind power plants

for the best efficiency, conducting
nature surveys, or looking at a whole

Lots and lots of company work in
this space, including Enviros, DMV,

It's quite easy to find them by looking
on the internet, and if you want to be

one of the world's experts in a particular
issue, they're a great place to go.

You always need to be at
the forefront of your field.

You've got to be continually learning, but there
is a risk that after a while you become siloed.

And that works really well for some
people and is challenging you for

And again, if you want to really
know you've designed the best

possible solution to a sustainability
challenge, they're a great place to go.

So the fourth area that people can work in
sustainability is probably one of my personal

There's thousands of different
ones around the world.

They're all really diverse from each other.

And the great thing is they love new graduates and
new starters who can just get their hands dirty,

get stuck in and take a lot of responsibility,
but the cultures can be incredibly varied and the

training and development is not always amazing.

So you need to think about how
you develop a career in them.

The diversity of the boutique consultancies
is one of the things that appeals to a

lot of people because you can do things as
varied as modern slavery assessments, supply

chain work, diversity inclusion strategies,
carbon footprinting communications programs.

No matter what your degree and your background
and your experience, there's a sustainability

boutique consultancy that'll be looking for your
skills and therefore you can get a job there.

Number five is similar, but also at the
opposite end of the spectrum, and that's

working for the really big global consultancy.

So this is the KPMGs, the PWCs, Accenture,
Bain, McKinsey, because they're all investing

really heavily in sustainability professionals.

And again, they're looking
for the best of the best.

You don't have to be qualified in sustainability
to get a job there because they want transferrable

skills, but perhaps slightly controversially.

They're the ones where you have to work
the hardest and to get promoted, you

You've gotta keep the customers
happy more than pretty much any other

Um, I spent a lot of my career in one
of these companies and it gave me a

Finally, number six, and that's
where I work now, and that's working

A lot of people feel this is where they
want to be because you get to work on

actual products, projects of your own, and
you get a chance to have the reward that

comes with working with larger businesses.

The challenge is there's a very finite number
of roles there, and they're often looking

So starting off in one of the first five we
talked about in this video often gives you a good

grounding to move in-house using the experience
and transferable skills you've got there.

There's probably gonna be a lot more roles,
whether that's in AI and data science, analyzing

what's happening in sustainability, whether it's
in the new breed of digital tech startups that

are helping with sustainability data, or whether
it's in a technology we haven't even seen yet.

But there's plenty of options for people who
wanna work in sustainability and do work that

feels like it's purposeful and have meaning.

Please check out some of the other
videos to see if they're useful to you.

Sustainability Careers

Expert Insight

For those wanting to create a positive impact on the world around them, a job in sustainability is an obvious choice. But what does it actually mean to work in sustainability and how can you find your dream job? Ben Wielgus has spent 20 years in the industry and is currently Head of Sustainability at Informa. In this special series he will answer those questions and more!

In the first episode, Ben explores the different kinds of work available, discussing the roles, responsibilities, skills and qualifications needed in each field - a must-watch for anyone interested in a career in sustainability.