Environmental Planner / Scientist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
An Environmental Planner or Scientist uses training and background in natural sciences to study the environment and threats to the environment. Investigates environmental problems and advises on solutions. May focus on potential environmental health risks to people, such as unsafe drinking water, or on protecting the environment and ecosystems from human activity such as development and industrial pollution.
Job Outlook
There were 1043 Environmental Planner / Scientist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 32831 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Environmental Planner / Scientist industry, which includes the Environmental Planner / Scientist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Environmental Planner / Scientist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $83,683.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $73,518.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Environmental Planner / Scientist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $65,054.
Education and Experience
Posted Environmental Planner / Scientist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 64.28% |
| Master's Degree | 24.78% |
| Doctoral Degree | 6.75% |
| Other | 8.49% |
Posted Environmental Planner / Scientist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 37.97% |
| 3 to 5 years | 38.29% |
| 6 to 8 years | 12.65% |
| 9+ years | 11.09% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Environmental Planner / Scientist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (40.62%)
- Management (33.48%)
- Planning (28.7%)
- Operations (26.97%)
- Research (25.82%)
- Leadership (22.13%)
- Writing (18.72%)
- Coordinating (18.29%)
- Investigation (18.27%)
- Detail Oriented (16.97%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Biology (23.24%)
- Environmental Engineering (13.69%)
- Environmental Resource Management (5.36%)
- Field Research (10.27%)
- Ecology (8.54%)
- Environmental Impact Assessments (5.54%)
- Environmental Laws (20.48%)
- Environmental Compliance (15.68%)
- Environmental Science (46.46%)
- Environmental Consulting (6.62%)
- Groundwater (10.72%)
- Geology (16.43%)
- Project Management (26.84%)
- Sampling (Statistics) (10.68%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Site Assessment (8.69%)
- Construction (7.55%)
- Geographic Information Systems (11.31%)
- Chemistry (12.95%)
- Data Analysis (9.45%)
- Business Development (5.43%)
- Auditing (10.42%)
- Data Collection (23.11%)
- Regulatory Compliance (8.43%)
- Oil and Gas (4.35%)
- ISO 14000 Series (1.57%)
- Waste Management (6.45%)
- Soil Science (16.46%)
- Technical Writing (9.53%)
- Risk Analysis (4.28%)
- Stormwater Management (10.72%)
- Subcontracting (7.6%)
- Environment Health And Safety (9.97%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Soil Sampling (2.09%)
- Environmental Data Analysis (14.61%)
- Wetland Delineation (5.85%)
- California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (2.91%)
- Sustainability Initiatives (0.8%)
- Environmental Permitting (8.92%)
- Clean Water Act (5.86%)
- Groundwater Monitoring (1.29%)
- Coastal Science (14.91%)
- Endangered Species Act (3.23%)
- Air Quality (5.24%)
- Environmental Management Systems (3.62%)
- Environmental Auditing (1.52%)
- Environmentalism (3.02%)
- Environmental Studies (5.21%)
- Environmental Planning (7.94%)
- Pollution Prevention (6.66%)
- Environmental Impact Statements (3.34%)
- Environmental Issue (6.33%)
- Hydrogeology (3.39%)
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (1.58%)
- Officer Training (7.02%)
- National Environmental Policy Act (6.93%)
- Surface Water (4.73%)
- Sediment Controls (1.9%)
- Sediment (2.83%)
- Water Quality (4.97%)
- Resource Conservation And Recovery Act (RCRA) (6.2%)
- Spill Response (2.56%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (4.73%)
- Clean Water Act (9.54%)
- Coastal Science (24.27%)
- Environmental Impact Statements (5.43%)
- Environmental Management Systems (5.89%)
- Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (2.57%)
- Environmental Studies (8.47%)
- Groundwater (17.43%)
- Hydrogeology (5.51%)
- Project Management (43.67%)
- Officer Training (11.42%)
- Sampling (Statistics) (17.38%)
- Surface Water (7.7%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Environmental Planner / Scientist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Environmental Specialist
- Environmental Scientist
- Transfer Station Operator
- Environmental Planner
- Environmental Analyst
- Environmental Engineer/Scientist
- Environmental Coordinator
- Environmental Scientist/Geologist
- Sustainability Manager
- Environmental Protection Specialist
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Environmental Compliance Specialist
- Environmental Engineer
- Conservation Scientist
- Field Biologist
- Water Resource Specialist
- Environmental Engineering Technician
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Environmental Planner / Scientist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1877)
- State of Minnesota (793)
- Stantec (513)
- Actalent (507)
- State of Florida (475)
- AECOM (436)
- WSP Global (436)
- Eurofins (350)
- U.S Environmental Protection Agency (266)
- Transdev (262)
North Carolina
- State of North Carolina (87)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (75)
- Actalent (27)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (20)
- N.C Department Of Transportation (20)
- Zachary Piper Solutions (18)
- Terracon Consultants (16)
- Montrose Environmental Group (15)
- AECOM (14)
- Hitachi (13)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Agriculture Data Science Graduate Certificates
- Biological and Agricultural Engineering Master's Degrees
- Climate Adaptation Graduate Certificates
- Environmental Assessment Master's Degrees
- Environmental Assessment Graduate Certificates
- Fundamentals of Entomology Undergraduate Certificates
- Renewable Energy Assessment Undergraduate Certificates
- Soil Science Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.