The moderated panel discussion rapidly found its own theme – the importance of “wooing” individuals and groups as you are looking for open doors in environmental careers. “Wooing gets it done.” Prof. Turner said, leaning towards the crowd with intensity, “Getting people to be on your side and enroll in your thing is how environmental sciences function.”  He added, “Take advantage of opportunities to work on a wide variety of projects, look for multiple ways to gain experience.”

Cassie Lubenow, whose wide breath of internship experiences got her hired at UW months before she finished her degree, jumped in eagerly, “Especially in school – having the chance to work on a variety of different projects in school gave me a good excuse to make a lot of connections.”

But don’t be afraid to step outside what you studied in school. “Your major doesn’t dictate what you do with your life” says Jill Rand, whose environmental policy degree is being used to coordinate interns at UWB. She reminded the audience that your passion for environmental issues can find a home in a variety of surprising areas, “I really enjoy doing outreach working with people. And there are so many ways environmental issues are a part of doing business in the Seattle area. I have an indirect influence in people’s awareness and cumulative impact on the environment.”

The importance of networking to find internships, jobs, volunteer opportunities or insight into potential opening or areas of growth was the most important tip of the night. Both the Northwest Association of Environmental Professionals NWAEP and UWB Environmental Studies Facebook pages were mentioned as great social media resources for keeping up to date on opportunities as well as the websites for local networking groups SustainableSeattle.org and Seattlegreendrinks.org.

Our next Tuesdays at 21 is June 27, Sustainable Farming, Cooking and Zero Waste, with 21 Acres chef, Asako Sullivan, and SAgE Student Farm manager, Perry Acworth.  For more information, check out our Tuesdays@21 Event Page