Climate Jobs are here to stay. Here’s where you come in

8 minute read

When I quit my 9-5 job and started Mama Eco, I had no idea that a budding climate-focused industry was about to take hold. Today, that industry is literally exploding. In fact, there’s never been a better time to be looking for climate jobs, green jobs, or environmental science jobs. And here’s a stat to prove just that…

This is great news and it gives me hope.

But what does this really tell us?

For starters, the climate innovation industry is booming and it’s just the beginning, which means if you wanna be doing more with your time, energy, and day-to-day work life, now is the time to dig in. And if you’ve been ready to take your climate action to the next level, then this is it.

You don’t have to choose between impact + paying the bills

It’s now easier than ever to tackle climate change, pay your rent, and feel like you’re working towards something much bigger. Now, you can have it all. And with more and more people wanting their jobs to reflect their values, this is the time to put your incredible lived and work experience towards tackling the climate crisis.

To dig in a little further, if you’re one of the many people around the world who quit their job during The Great Resignation, then this is your opportunity to dive back into the workforce in a way that feels truly aligned with your Ikigai.

And if, at the end of the day, you just need a job, then finding one in the climate industry is a perfect fit as well. Why not do something that’s in your field that also tackles climate change?

If you have expertise in any of the below fields, then even you can work in climate:

• marketing & PR
• sales
• software engineering
• copywriting
• human resources
• accounting
• law
• events
• financial analysis
• managing
• business ops and strategy

I could go on and on, but believe me, there’s more!

With all this in mind, I wanted to put together a list of the best job search sites for finding climate jobs. Yes, you can also look on places like Indeed or LinkedIn. But the truth is, there’s a lot of noise on those sites. So rather than sifting through a million jobs that don’t apply to you (or aren’t in line with your values), you can search on a job site that specifically focuses on what you’re looking for.

Here’s a simple analogy:

If you’re in need of some yummy local cheese, wouldn’t you rather go to a cheese shop instead of trolling through the isles of a giant grocery store trying to find the cheese section?

A Curated List of Climate Job Search Sites:

Here’s a TLDR list of the main websites when looking for jobs in climate change and sustainability:

• Climatebase
• Climate People
• Climate Jobs List
• Green Jobs Board
• Otta
• Work on Climate

Now let’s dive into each climate job site to see the pros and cons of each. This’ll help you figure out which option is best for you (and your level of overwhelm when it comes to looking for jobs). Cuz let’s be honest, looking for a job is a full time job in itself. And it can be exhausting. So my hope is to alleviate as much of that as I can.

Climatebase

Their tagline is “make climate your career” and their goal is to help you “discover impactful jobs at the world’s leading climate tech companies and environmental nonprofits.”

Pros:

• An extensive database of jobs and they send out weekly newsletters with the most recent job postings. I love this feature because it enables you to skim through any new green job postings that have come up since you last looked.
• A lot of remote jobs if that’s a priority for you.

Cons:

• Heavy into tech, which can be a bit limiting if working for climate tech companies isn’t your goal. Still, it’s worth a look as they have green jobs in different sectors as well.
• An extensive database, which can feel a bit overwhelming to sift through.
• Mostly focuses on the US job market. This is only. anissue if you’re not based in the US.

Climate People

Their goal is to connect “mission-driven talent with companies fighting climate change” and they focus specifically on organizations and businesses that are creating “a sustainable future for all.”

Pros:

• Easy-to-use filters help you narrow down your search to jobs that fit your needs.
• They send out a newsletter to keep you updated on the most recent job postings
• They include salary ranges for all of their job postings, which is so helpful. The last thing you wanna do is spend time applying for a job that’s not something you can realistically support yourself on. It’s such a pet peeve of mine when companies aren’t transparent about the salary range they’re offering.

Cons:

• Their Rolodex is much smaller than Climatebase, but in a way that also means that it’s much less overwhelming to sift through the available jobs. Anyone who’s ever looked for a job knows how overwhelming and exhausting it can be.

Climate Jobs List

Their goal is to “help ClimateTech companies attract the best, mission-driven talent on their quest to tackle the urgent climate and global emissions challenge.”

Pros:

• Thousands of job openings at any given time
• Includes job openings from all over the world
• Focuses on both climate and climate tech jobs
• Lots of green-collar and blue-collar jobs, which you don’t find as much on the other job search sites

Cons:

• Their filters are a bit limiting
• Some of their job listings are months old, which makes you wonder if they’re still valid

Green Jobs Board

This job board is a curated list of green jobs and ranges from internships to fellowships to executive positions. So I would say they have a great range of opportunities for different industries, organizations and experience levels.

Pros:

• A curated list that’s never overwhelming
• Includes salary ranges in all of the job postings
• Covers all types of businesses and organizations (which is great if you’re not just looking for climate tech jobs!)
• They have an Instagram, which means that the job search process can casually show up in your insta feed without you having to go searching for it

Cons:

• They don’t have a search filter, but you can use the find function in your browser to search for specific keywords (such as ‘remote’, ‘marketing’, etc)

Otta

So this job site doesn’t specifically focus on climate or the environment. Instead, their main focus is to cut the noise of the bigger mainstream job search sites and niche down. They focus mostly on tech startups and mission-driven companies.

Pros:

• They have a “sustainability” filter, which is super helpful and not common on mainstream job search sites.
• Easy-to-use filters help you narrow down your search to jobs that fit your needs.
• Aesthetics and user interface are top-notch, which are so helpful when doing something as monotonous as looking for a job.
• They send you job openings that match filters you set in place

Cons:

• They send you jobs that they believe are a good match for your preferences, but they aren’t always on point or applicable.
• Not specifically focused on jobs in climate change and sustainability, so you might end up searching through lots of jobs that aren’t what you’re looking for

Work on Climate

This is actually a slack community as opposed to a job search platform, but their goal is to help people find and build climate-focused companies.

Pros:

• Great for connecting with people who might be future employers or business partners.
• They have a #jobs-alert channel within the slack to give you the scoop on the latest job postings

Cons:

• Just like any other slack community, it can be a bit overwhelming to keep abreast of everything and not get overwhelmed.

It never hurts to give Google a Try

While writing this post, I also found a lot of popular search terms that might be helpful for you when searching for your future dream job. IF you type in the terms: “climate jobs”, “green jobs”, or “environmental science jobs” and throw in the words “near me”, “remote” or your specific location, you can also get some interesting results. Here are a few examples of what I’m talking about:

• climate jobs london
• environmental science jobs entry level
• climate jobs near me
• environmental science jobs near me
• climate jobs NYC
• environmental science jobs salary
• green jobs near me
• remote environmental science jobs
• climate change jobs remote
• highest paying environmental science jobs
• climate jobs ny
• green jobs NYC
• climate change jobs near me

Conclusion:

If you’re looking to have an impact with a career in climate change, then using a job search site that specifically focuses on climate jobs, green jobs, or environmental science jobs. This will help you cut through all the noise on the internet and get closer to having that positive impact on the planet.

Even just two years ago, it was difficult for people who were searching for climate jobs. But with an industry that’s exploding with innovation, technology, and VC money, climate careers are gonna be one of the most popular avenues for people moving forward.

Your thoughts on the climate job front?

HAve you ever looked for. agreen job or a job in the climate space? Are there any job sites that I didn’t mention that have been helpful to you? If you end up applying/getting a job through one of these job sites, please let me know. I’d love to hear your success story!