Environmental Research Scientist
What the work is
Researches environmental phenomena, and studies and develops policies and plans for the control of adverse environmental factors, and the protection, effective management, restoration and recovery of the environment.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Studies, records and analyses atmospheric conditions, demographic characteristics, and air, mineral, soil and water samples
- Examines the impact of human activity on the environment and creates plans to reduce these impacts
- Investigates the source of adverse environmental factors such as air and water pollution, and land degradation
- Develops conservation and environmental rehabilitation plans to prevent, reduce or remediate the impacts of activities such as agriculture, construction, forestry and mining
- Develops and leads environmental sustainability projects
- Plans, conducts and manages environmental research and monitoring projects
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in an environmental consultancy writing assessments for building, mining and farming projects. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A field survey turns up something unexpected and your report changes how a project is built
- You explain a river's health to a community meeting and the questions change from angry to curious
- A developer asks how to do better, not how to get around the rules
Hard days
- A client wants the report to say one thing, and your data says another
- Weeks of fieldwork in the heat, followed by days of dense writing
- A community meeting where people who live nearby are sure you are on the other side
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 244432, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.