Environmental Scientist resume examples for 2024

An environmental scientist's resume should highlight experience in data collection and analysis, as well as technical report preparation. Proficiency in specific software, such as GIS, and knowledge of federal regulations, like EPA standards, can also make a candidate stand out. According to Logan Brenner Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Environmental Science at Barnard College, research experience is also a valuable asset, as it demonstrates independence, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.

Environmental Scientist resume example

How to format your environmental scientist resume:

• Tailor your job title to match the applied role for an environmental scientist position.
• Emphasize accomplishments rather than duties in your work experience, such as developing implementation plans for water quality objectives or conducting wetland delineations.
• Follow the recommendation of recruiters and hiring managers to fit your resume on one page, focusing on relevant experiences and achievements in environmental science.

Choose from 10+ customizable environmental scientist resume templates

Choose from a variety of easy-to-use environmental scientist resume templates and get expert advice from Zippia’s AI resume writer along the way. Using pre-approved templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your environmental scientist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Environmental Scientist resume format and sections

1. Add contact information to your environmental scientist resume

Your name should be the biggest text on the page and be at or near the top of the document. Your address doesn't need to include your street name or house number - listing your city and state works just fine. Your email address should be professional, but not your current work email address. It's not a good look to use your work email for personal projects (job-searching). Your social media can be included if you have a fully-fledged LinkedIn page or another social media page that showcases your relevant skill set.

2. Add relevant education to your environmental scientist resume

• The name of your school
• The date you graduated (Month, Year or Year are both appropriate)
• The name of your degree

If you graduated more than 15 years ago, you should consider dropping your graduation date to avoid age discrimination.

Optional subsections for your education section include:

• Academic awards (Dean's List, Latin honors, etc. )
• GPA (if you're a recent graduate and your GPA was 3.5+)
• Extra certifications
• Academic projects (thesis, dissertation, etc. )

Other tips to consider when writing your education section include:

• If you're a recent graduate, you might opt to place your education section above your experience section
• The more work experience you get, the shorter your education section should be
• List your education in reverse chronological order, with your most recent and high-ranking degrees first
• If you haven't graduated yet, you can include "Expected graduation date" to the entry for that school

Environmental Scientist Resume Relevant Education Example # 1

Bachelor's Degree In Biology 2015 - 2018

University of Wisconsin Colleges Madison, WI

Environmental Scientist Resume Relevant Education Example # 2

Bachelor's Degree In Environmental Science 2012 - 2015

Michigan State University East Lansing, MI

3. Next, create an environmental scientist skills section on your resume

• Include 6-12 skills, in bullet point form
• List mostly hard skills; soft skills are hard to test
• Emphasize the skills that are most important for the job

Hard skills are generally more important to hiring managers because they relate to on-the-job knowledge and specific experience with a certain technology or process.

Soft skills are also valuable, as they're highly transferable and make you a great person to work alongside, but they're impossible to prove on a resume.

Example of skills to include on an environmental scientist resume

Environmental compliance means to fulfill official environmental requirements. It comprises environmental rules, laws, and regulations, and permits regarding which sites to operate. Environmental concerns have raised compliances across the globe. Environmental compliance includes managing and monitoring the required permits for correct parameters, performing and processing calculations, generate daily compliance reports, and record data with compliance to any risk alert

Data collection means to analyze and collect all the necessary information. It helps in carrying out research and in storing important and necessary information. The most important goal of data collection is to gather the information that is rich and accurate for statistical analysis.

A geographic information system (GIS) is a tool for capturing, storing, manipulating, analyzing, managing and presenting various forms of geographic data.

Technical reports are a type of document that is used to indicate either the progress, result, or process of scientific research or the state of problems occurring within such research. A technical report may also showcase the report's overall conclusion and may also include recommendations. This kind of report does not require a peer review and isn't published officially but distributed within the organizations where it was formed.

Having oversight of someone means to monitor a process or a situation. If someone has oversight of something, they are responsible for the completion of the project. Oversight is usually given to experts as they monitor their juniors or newbies as they go through a project.

GPS stands from Global Positioning System. It is a navigation system comprising of satellites that helps in determining the location, velocity, and synchronize time data for different modes of travel like air, sea, or land.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a US-based organization established to sustain and improve the environmental and human health standards across the United States. EPA was established by US President Richard Nixon by executive order in December 1970. The EPA formulates laws and releases guidelines to promote the health of individuals and the ecosystem.

Top Skills for an Environmental Scientist

4. List your environmental scientist experience

The most important part of any resume for an environmental scientist is the experience section. Recruiters and hiring managers expect to see your experience listed in reverse chronological order, meaning that you should begin with your most recent experience and then work backwards. Don't just list your job duties below each job entry. Instead, make sure most of your bullet points discuss impressive achievements from your past positions. Whenever you can, use numbers to contextualize your accomplishments for the hiring manager reading your resume. It's okay if you can't include exact percentages or dollar figures. There's a big difference even between saying "Managed a team of environmental scientists" and "Managed a team of 6 environmental scientists over a 9-month project. " Most importantly, make sure that the experience you include is relevant to the job you're applying for. Use the job description to ensure that each bullet point on your resume is appropriate and helpful.

What experience really stands out on Environmental Scientist resumes?

Anything that provides a student experience that is related to what they are studying and want to do for a career. So for those who want to work in industry, an internship is a really good idea. Many of our environmental science students who do internships end up working for the company they intern with. If you want to go on to graduate school, working as an undergraduate researcher in one of our science labs really stands out.