That's my answer: the major that will contribute most to your preserving and protecting wildlife is a major that will enable you to make a living, so that you can give your own time and money to the preservation of wildlife.
In my company, the biologists are the ones with the most contact with wildlife and forests. They help tell us engineers what impact our facilities have. And they do ongoing monitoring of the fish and wildlife populations to get solid data in our impact. Our environmental scientists and engineers do more office work than field work, determining policy, getting permits and assuring ongoing compliance with regulations.
So it appears biology would more sure your stated goals, however, it is a tough market. There only a few biologists in our company and they have been there for awhile, not many hires. More than a few biology majors have hired in as chemistry technicians, a good paying job but does not require a degree. You may need to plan on an advanced degree to separate you from the crowd.
I took an environmental science class in high school and I am now working as an environmental engineer.
In my experience, Env. Scientist focuses more on ecology, biodiversity, water/air quality, and forestation. I believe they travel more and do more hands on work helping out in the environment. They also collect and analyze data related to air/water quality and deforestation.
Environmental engineering deals more with chemical spill remediation and cleanup when something happens like an oil spill in the ocean. As an environmental engineer, I have to report water usage, PH levels, electricity and gas usage, and more to the EPA on a quarterly basis. I also have to keep a record of all waste we deal with and properly dispose of the waste. Batteries have to be separated between NiCad and Li-Ion. fluorescent light bulbs have to be disposed of in a certain way. Chemicals must be properly labeled and be kept under a threshold. And you have to work on environmental improvement projects at your company to improve energy efficiency or reduce waste. More jobs and higher pay with this option.
environmental science focus more on the search for cause and effect as well as other basic data, whereas environmental engineer doing engineering environmental conditions according to the desired
I know biology is a lot more broad than either of the other two majors, but basically my question is... what is the difference between environmental engineering and environmental science? I want a career in which i can really contribute towards protecting th environment AND wildlife. I want to help preserve forests and such.
At first I was thinking biology because it's much more broad and I would possibly have wider career options with it and that way I could minor in environmental science as well, but environmental engineering sounds right down my alley. I didn't know about it at first, but would it be worth it? I've never taken a physics class so I'm not sure what to expect. Btw, I'm already at a community college, transferring to a 4 year uni this fall.
Basically...which major could help me contribute most to protecting/preserving the environment/wildlife??
