What Is It Like to Be an Environmental Consultant?

The rules and regulations that protect the environment today can be complex. Environmental consultants like Rachel Tuohy, 26, work to help organizations understand how to comply with legal requirements for their harmful emissions, water usage, and other environmentally impactful practices.

What does an environmental consultant do?

Rachel can do most of her work from home, an aspect of her job that she really enjoys. The duties of an environmental consultant center around assisting clients with getting permits for harmful emissions, staying up to date with changing legislation, and showing clients how to stay within those lines.

This work consists of using a lot of math, from calculating emissions that are going to be released, to how far they can spread and more, as well as plenty of phone calls and emails.

As a consultant with Sphere 3 Environmental, many of her clients are independent oil/energy companies or organizations, although there is plenty of variety when it comes to what she might do with her day: “wetland delineation, threatened and endangered species work (determining if there are any in the area and how to move forward if there are), SPCC (spill plans), pipeline work and even archaeology work (they go through land and look for artifacts/culturally significant markers before a company begins construction).”

What about Rachel’s personal experience as an environmental consultant?

Rachel does do a lot of field work and as a young woman in a predominantly man-driven industry, she has had to face some uncomfortable moments. However, with her Bachelor of Science in Radiological Health Engineering degree from Texas A&M, as well as her knowledge and experience, she has learned how to handle interactions with professionalism. She says her alma mater commands respect in the industry as one of the leading schools in agriculture and engineering in the nation.

A favorite part of her job is deciphering the legal jargon of environmental legislation and translating it into readable rules for clients. She has seen a growing concern from clients and investors for following legal requirements and protecting the environment; only a small percentage of her clients fight back on staying within guidelines.

For anyone interested in a similar career field, Rachel advises taking a lot of math courses. She took seven math credits and finds use in each one every day. It is also an industry that highly values experience, but like Rachel learned with her Aggie education, the right background can outweigh any perceived “shortcomings”. ThisWay Global can help find the right fit for an aspiring environmental consultant. Sign up today to see how ThisWay Global can match you with the career you’ve always wanted.

Learn more about Sphere 3 Environmental here.

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What Is It Like To Be An Environmental Consultant?
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What does an environmental consultant do? Learn about environmental consultancy career from the personal experience of an environmental consultant.
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ThisWay Global
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