Careers
Students from the MSc in Environmental Protection and Management have a good record in finding careers in the environmental sector.
Some choose to undertake further study in this area by registering for a PhD. There are also opportunities for applying knowledge gained on the program in consultancy posts, with environmental regulators, government and NGOs.
Some of our previous students have provided the following details of what they have moved on to following completion of the EP&M MSc.
Karen Thorburn - Senior Development Officer, Wind Prospect
I completed an MSc in Environmental Protection and Management between 2007-2008, as I wanted to expand my environmental knowledge following my undergraduate degree in Geography. I began work with my present employer, Wind Prospect, immediately after the completion of my dissertation. I found my job when my employer approached the course organisers to see if any of the students would be interested in working for Wind Prospect. Improving my public speaking skills during the MSc and completing modules in Environmental Impact Assessment and Participation in Policy and Planning have helped me in my present role.
Maeve Stronach (EP&M MSc 2008-09)
I found my year studying for the MSc in Environmental Protection and Management a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. The large choice of modules allowed me to tailor the course to suit my career direction, and they were generally interesting and well taught. The field trip to Morocco was a real highlight to the year, and provided us with valuable field experience as well as an opportunity to get to know our fellow students and lecturers better!
How the program helped me find a job: Soon after I finished the MSc I was offered a work experience placement with an environmental consultancy in Dublin, which offers a wide range of environmental services, and was then kept on. I am sure that having completed this MSc boosted my chances of finding employment during the difficult economic climate here in Ireland. At the moment my work is mainly in the area of contaminated land and is a combination of site work, office based data analysis and assisting with report preparation.
Alison Flynn (EP&M 2009-10)
Following my MSc I enrolled on a graduate scheme called the Flood Risk Science Programme, which I got onto because of the relevance of my MSc dissertation. I am just so glad I chose the topic I did for my dissertation! I get to work in four departments of SEPA for around 4-5 months each in Hydrometry, Water Resources, River Basin Management and Flood Risk. The rest of the time will be spent working on a real life Flood Project, perhaps with local authorities. So I do all that part-time and SEPA are funding a part time masters in River Basin Management for 5 of us at Stirling and 5 of us at Dundee. The whole thing lasts two years and they hope to give us jobs at the end of it in the Flood Risk team or find us jobs in Scottish Water or local authorities. It's a really good opportunity especially in the current job climate! We all attended the Scottish Parliament in September for an evening event hosted by Roseanna Cunningham, the minister for the Environment, which was to welcome us as "Flood scientists of the future", so that was pretty good way to start the job! It's also a bit daunting as I have a lot to live up to now. SEPA are taking on 10 more people in 2011 and then that will be the end of the graduate scheme (they are only doing 3 intakes of 10 people and I'm part of the 2nd intake).
Careers Service
Students looking for advice about planning their career and the options available to them are encouraged to make as much use as possible of the University’s Careers Service:
This article was published on Dec 14, 2010