Nature

One of the biggest challenges for the next few years will be to find good sources of renewable energy; and ones that don’t harm the planet in the process. Picturing a man in a white coat with glasses and fuzzy hair surrounded by an array of different coloured test tubes yet? Well that isn’t exactly how it happens. There are lots of people involved in the race for better sources of energy and most of them aren’t in laboratories. It involves economists, policy makers, journalists as well as engineers and scientists; and whilst some of the work takes place indoors much of it is outside looking at the impact on the air we breathe, the vehicles we drive and even predicting the weather. And the people working on this have the chance to effect real change in our world, which has to be something we’d all like to see.

But it’s not all about finding a solution to save the world from destruction; many careers in nature are simply about making the best of what we have. Like ensuring there are sustainable, clean water supplies for everyone, designing earthquake proof buildings, and calculating and communicating the immediate effects of climate change. As you may have guessed, there are lots of scientists, mathematicians and engineers working in this area, but also as specialists in rocks, soil, oceans and the impacts of weather as well as journalists, communications specialists, economists and politicians. With so many exciting options open to you, read on to learn more about careers in nature…