Careers
Environmental Science graduates are prepared to tackle environmental issues with tact and technical capability. Graduates pursue careers in government agencies, nonprofits, industry, and consulting, or continue their educational journey in advanced degree programs.
What Job Titles Do Graduates Hold?
A select list:
- Environmental Scientist
- Permitting Specialist
- Environmental Health Specialist
- Urban Forestry Inspector
- Assistant Planner
- Fish and Wildlife Scientific Aid
- Safety Specialist
- Water Resources Specialist
- Sustainability Strategy Associate
- Compliance Officer
- Environmental Field Technician
- Science Teacher (K–12)
- Lab Technician
- Community Conservation Educator
- Policy Research Assistant
- Native Plant Nursery Assistant
- Community Organizer
- Volunteer Program Lead
Brian Ohiaeri ’26
Biology Intern at San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
What Does a Day in the Field Look Like?
Some days we’re doing fish surveys and other days we’re doing plant work. For plant work, we look for milkweed, which attracts monarch butterflies, an endangered species. We mark the plants so we can return and check on them later. For fish work, we count fish and check their health.”
Brian Ohiaeri ’26
Biology Intern at San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Who Employs Graduates?
A select list by sector:
Government
- San Francisco Rec and Parks Department
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
- Environmental Protection Agency
- San Francisco Environmental Department
- California State Water Resources Control Board
- Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
- San Francisco Estuary Institute
Industry
- PG&E
- Levi’s
- Tesla
- Apple
- OpenAI
- Esri
- Uber
- Waymo
Non-profit
- Save the Bay
- Communities for a Better Environment
- Greenbelt Alliance
- Earthjustice
Education
- CalAcademy
- Marine Mammal Center
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- UC Berkeley
- University of San Francisco
What Grad Schools Do Alumni Attend?
A select list:
- UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
- UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science and Management
- UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science
- Stanford Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Yale School of Forestry
- San Diego State Earth and Environmental Sciences
- University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
- University of Pennsylvania Sustainability and Environmental Management
- San Jose State Environmental Studies
- San Francisco State Geographic Information Science
- USF Master’s of Environmental Management
Stay a Don, Save on Graduate School
Continue your USF journey with the Double Dons Scholarship. If you're a current student or alum, you may be eligible to receive 20% off tuition for a participating graduate program.
