Even though I am a senior this year, I still have no concrete plans as to my career goal. I know I want to do something having to do with the sciences, but other than that, my options are pretty much open. My parents both worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service until retirement and during the final phase of both of their careers, they sat behind desks. The job they did could have probably been done by anyone. There is no reason that a person must be located in Georgia or even the US to do a job such as theirs. My mother performed assessments to evaluate the environmental costs and benefits of construction projects. She did not need to be in a certain place to do this—only have access to proper resource materials.

My father’s job required more travel to certain locations to evaluate accessibility concerns for refuge visitors. Sometimes, he would travel around the southeast and give his opinion on different refuges. That part of his career had to be done by someone local, but other aspects could have been done remotely.

They both retired while I was still in high school, so I am not sure what their replacements’ job descriptions are. While I have no definite plans for after graduation, I will probably become involved in a similar career path. I do not necessarily desire to have a job behind a desk, which is probably good for me because those jobs are more difficult to outsource.

One positive benefit of the flattening of the world is that more opportunities are available. While my parents were generally confined to concerns in the United States, in ten years it would expand to be a global career. This particularly interests me. I really enjoy traveling and seeing other parts of the world, and it seems to me that global expansion would be a positive benefit.

It also seems that the United States has more career opportunities for environmental scientists than other nations. We express many concerns about sustainability and the preservation of biodiversity. I am not suggesting that other countries do not care about the environment; we just place more emphasis on it. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is an organization run by the government, so if I chose to work there, I would have very little fear of losing my job to someone overseas.

In 10 years, I believe the rest of the world will begin to understand the need for environmental scientists, which will hopefully give me more opportunity to find a job. There are some organizations around today which fit that description, as well. However, in time, I am sure that even more countries will begin to form their own conservation organizations, but I also hope that they will find the need to invite some American scientists as consultants.