Environmental Sciences Jobs in the Federal Government

federal worker rescuing bird There are many employment opportunities in natural resource management and environmental protection in the federal government.

Job Profiles

Here are few examples of recent job openings. Explore more and apply now at USA Jobs.

Natural Resource Specialist at the Department of the Interior

Salary Range: $34,149 - $65,704 per year
Duty Locations: Throughout the nation
Job Summary: The organization is the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office. The Rawlins Field Office consists of 12.5 million acres in south-central Wyoming, including the eastern third of Sweetwater County as well as all of Carbon, Albany and Laramie counties. Within that area, the Rawlins Field Office is responsible for the management of 3.5 million acres of public lands and approximately 4.5 million acres of federal mineral estate.
Major Duties: The specialist will provide assistance in support of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project. The BLM Rawlins Field Office is one of seven BLM Field Offices to serve as a Pilot Project Office ensuring timely action on oil and gas leases and permits to drill.

Soil Scientist at the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service

Salary Range: $56,896 - $73,968 per year
Duty Locations: Throughout the nation
Job Summary: The Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is the nation’s leading forest management agency. It is an organization of more than 30,000.
Major Duties: The scientist will prepare reports that investigate or render soils and ecological information; use analytical methods and techniques to analyze a wide range of scientific, environmental, and soil management issues; carry out soil surveys, classifying and mapping soils based on the study and measurement of their significant characteristics.

Internship Examples

The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Education offers practical research opportunities and experiences for fellows through its National Network for Environmental Management Studies. Fellowships are available for undergraduate and graduate students in environmental policy, regulation, and law; environmental management and administration; environmental science; public relations and communications; and computer programming and development.
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/intern.htm

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) Internship Program in Environmental Studies allows undergraduate and graduate students to research ecology, global change, environmental engineering and environmental education. This program enables students to work on specific projects under the direction of SERC's professional staff. http://www.serc.si.edu/pro_training/internships/internships.jsp

US Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, a major research center, is pleased to announce opportunities for college and university undergraduate students to participate in the Laboratory's ongoing research programs. In addition to such opportunities, the U.S. Department of Energy is directly sponsoring research participation at other DOE facilities. At Argonne, college/university students may obtain research experience through the Department of Energy's Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships Program or the Student Research Participation Program.
http://www.dep.anl.gov/p_undergrad/fall.htm

Brookhaven National Laboratory, located on Long Island, New York, Brookhaven is a multi-program national laboratory operated by Brookhaven Science Associates for the U.S. Department of Energy. Brookhaven has a staff of approximately 3,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support staff and over 4,000 guest researchers annually.
http://www.bnl.gov/HR/jobs/

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA), in California, offers four different internship programs, for summer employment, part-time work or new graduates looking for their first job.
http://careerlaunch.jpl.nasa.gov

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in California, has internship and job opportunities listed on the site. They range from environmental sciences to other science and health fields.
http://cjo.lbl.gov

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California, is an applied science laboratory that is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the Department of Energy (DOE). LLNL has been managed since its inception in 1952 by the University of California for the U.S. government.
https://jobs.llnl.gov/prod_index.html

Environmental Protection Agency has several Student Employement Programs on their site. The deadlines are in early spring.
http://www.epa.gov/careers/gradopp.html

Jobs by the Numbers

Number of Environmental Sciences Positions by Field

Field	Full-time and Permanent (FTP) Positions
Natural Resources Management	17,992
Forestry and Forestry Technician	11,935
Soil Science and Conservation	6,367
Environmental Protection Specialist	5,379
Environmental Engineering	4,587
Ecology	1,235

Source: Fedscope 12/06

Number of Environmental Sciences Positions by Agency

Agency	FTP Environmental Sciences Positions
Department of Agriculture	25,089
Department of the Interior	7,769
Department of Defense	7,638
Environmental Protection Agency	6,069
Department of Health and Human Services	3,321
Department of Homeland Security	2,241
Department of Commerce	401
Department of Energy	332
Department of Veterans Affairs	207
Smithsonian Institution	47