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A
Job To Love
A large film production crew wants to
shoot a movie in a remote outdoor location
a few hours north of your community.
Local authorities have allowed the crew
to use the land, but only on the condition
that the environment not be harmed or
polluted while the crew’s there.
To make sure that no harm occurs, you’ve
been hired to monitor the film shoot.
You spend your time closely watching
the film crew and their camp, taking
various samples of the earth and water
to make sure there’s no pollution.
The crew is very helpful and is careful
to clean up after themselves. When the
shoot is finally over, your tests find
that no pollution is present and you
feel proud that you’ve played your
part in preserving the natural environment.
Environmental
monitors work across the country
to observe and report on how humans
interact with the environment. This
job often takes people to remote areas
to conduct their studies, and they
often do this work alone. Other times,
this job may take them out of the
country to work internationally. Most
of their work is conducted outdoors,
but monitors may also spend time inside
labs to write reports and to analyse
the data and samples that they collect
in the field. Aboriginal environmental
monitors have the opportunity to make
sure that human impact on the land
near their home communities are kept
to a minimum.
This
is an exciting job that could take
you to all sorts of incredible natural
environments. But, a job as an environmental
monitor is not always wonderful. You’ll
be exposed to toxic substances and
dangerous working conditions. You’ll
be away from your family a lot when
you are working in the field. A lot
of work takes place during the summer
months, so you may not have regular
work throughout the year. Sometimes,
you’ll feel as if your job doesn’t
help the environment enough, and that’s
a frustrating feeling. But, then again,
if you get to work with the right
team¾a team that always does
good work—your efforts will have
a visible effect on the health of
the environment.
Job
Description
As an environmental monitor, it’s
your job to study the natural world
and to make sure that human activities
don’t harm the environment. For
example, an environmental monitor working
for a mine would spend most days outdoors
collecting samples of water, air, land,
and plants. They would measure the dirt
roads, making sure the roads don’t
erode into the nearby creek and create
silt in the creek (which would probably
kill any fish in the creek). They’d
collect all of this data out in the
field and send it back to labs for analysis.
Environmental monitors generally work
for government departments, environmental
boards, large corporations, and consulting
companies.
Job
Duties
- Keep
track of the effects that new programs
or projects have on the environment
- Collect
samples to study air and soil pollution
- Help
in the operation and maintenance
of water monitoring
- Operate
and maintain field and lab equipment
- Identify
archaeological resources
- Write
technical reports
- Operate
various motor vehicles and, possibly,
firearms
Fact
NatureWatch, a suite of community-based
“citizen science” monitoring
programs, including WormWatch, PlantWatch,
IceWatch, and FrogWatch, has been
tracking the health of ecosystems
since 1980.
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High
school courses that will prepare you
for a job as an environmental monitor
include biology, chemistry, math, computers,
geography, and English. Aboriginal studies,
history, and languages will prepare
you for working in a multi-cultural
setting. Talk to your career or academic
counsellor about options such as physics,
technological design or communications.
The
minimum educational requirement for
this job is a high school diploma,
but most environmental monitors have
completed at least a two-year college
or technical diploma in environmental
science or engineering technology.
A bachelor’s degree in biology,
environmental science or a related
field would make you more competitive
and you would find it easier to find
a job and negotiate your salary.
Before
entering the workforce, some environmental
monitors require additional training
in:
- Bear
awareness
- First
Aid
- Global
Positioning Systems (GPS) usage
- Canadian
Firearms Safety
- Map
reading
- Workplace
Hazardous Materials Information
System (WHMIS)
Look
into specific high school prerequisites
set by the college or university you
would like to attend.
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Environmental
monitors with a high school diploma
make an average of $16,000.00 per
year.
Environmental
monitors with a college diploma make
an average of $26,000.00 per year.
Environmental
monitors with a bachelor’s degree
make an average of $42,000.00 per
year.
Environmental
monitors with several years of education
and experience make an average of
$72,000.00 per year.
Financial
Assistance
In addition to the general scholarship
tips listed in the BUILD MY CAREER
section, the following awards are
specific to environmental monitors:
Northern Entrance Scholarships
Full tuition is awarded by the Northern
College of Applied Arts and Technology
to Aboriginal diploma students who
are residents of Ontario.
Contact: Porcupine Campus
Highway 101 East
PO Box 3211
Timmons, ON
P4N 8R3
Telephone: (705) 235-3211
website: www.northernc.on.ca
Toyota
Earth Day Scholarships
Fifteen awards of $5,000.00 each
are awarded to students entering their
first year of post-secondary full-time
studies in Canada, in any discipline.
Contact: Toyota Earth Day Scholarship
Earth Day Canada
111 Peter Street, Suite 503
Toronto, ON M5V 2H1
Telephone: (416) 599-1991
Fax: (416) 599-3100
email: scholarship@earthday.ca
website: www.earthday.ca
website: www.toyota.ca
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Some
of the best knowledge you’ll
gain for this job will come from listening
to the stories and wisdom of your
relations. What has your family and
community traditionally done to keep
their impact on the environment to
a minimum? Talk to your Elders and
find out what traditional methods
they can share with you. Go on camping
trips and take hikes to make yourself
familiar with the natural world. Employers
will be impressed by your traditional
knowledge and your outdoor experience.
Relate
to people in similar jobs:
- Environmental
engineer
- Green
architect
- Clean
energy researcher
- Environmental
co-ordinator
Relate
and interact with other environmental
monitors. Ask them what they like
about their jobs and how you should
get started.
Ecological Monitoring and Assessment
Network / Le réseau d’évaluation
et de surveillance écologiques
Find your regional office or get involved
in NatureWatch
Co-ordinating Office
Environment Canada
Canada Centre for Inland Waters
867 Lakeshore Road
Burlington, ON
L7R 4A6
Telephone: (905) 336-4414
Fax: (905) 336-4499
email: eman@ec.gc.ca
website: www.eman-rese.ca
Relate
to other students. Most universities
have Aboriginal student associations
and resource centres. Visit these
centres to find out what they have
to offer. Also look into community
centres, friendship centres, and multi-cultural
centres.
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