Environmental Economists: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Environmental Economists conduct economic analysis related to environmental protection and use of the natural environment, such as water, air, land, and renewable energy resources. Evaluate and quantify benefits, costs, incentives, and impacts of alternative options using economic principles and statistical techniques.

• Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.
• Conduct research on economic and environmental topics, such as alternative fuel use, public and private land use, soil conservation, air and water pollution control, and endangered species protection.
• Assess the costs and benefits of various activities, policies, or regulations that affect the environment or natural resource stocks.
• Collect and analyze data to compare the environmental implications of economic policy or practice alternatives.

Salary

Environmental Economists with little to no experience tend to make between $58130 and $77270 while the more experienced ones can earn over $141780 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as an Environmental Economist is to move to a higher paying state like DC. Right now, the highest paying states for Environmental Economists are DC, NY, VA, OH and CA.

However, a higher pay at DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at DC might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as an Environmental Economist is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Environmental Economists what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a PhD followed by a Master’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being an Environmental Economist.

What is the job like

69% of Environmental Economists said they were satisfied with their job and 65% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..

They also like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Explore other careers