Environmental Job Market?

[ASM_Idaho]

I've been lurking for a while and have learned tons (thanks!) and decided to post my first question.

My partner and I are considering moving to New Zealand, preferably the Auckland or other northern areas. I have been to visit twice and he has once. I have an uncle and aunt who live up near 90 mile beach.

The deciding factor will of course be employment. We've been looking at job opportunities on various websites but was wondering if anyone could give me a better feel or pulse on how the environmental sector is and what the salaries are like.

I hold a degree in environmental sciences and have been working in local government with invasive species for the last 5 years. I am also currently in school to obtain a teaching certification for secondary natural sciences (teach high school biology, chemistry, physics, earth science) Partner has been a certified journeyman electrician for the last 10 years and is certified in solar design and installation.

Anywhere we'd move we would ideally like to maintain our current lifestyle which is nowhere near wealthy but we do have extras to travel, dine out, etc. We are used to a high cost of living area as we live in a resort community/tourist destination. We also have a 3 year old daughter.

Of course this is all contingent on selling our current house (which we most likely will be losing money on the deal) but we have decided it is time for a change and time to get away from the snow.

Thanks again!!

[Incognito]

Hi,

you could try MAF or maybe MNZ, I know MNZ will be losing one of their environmental team in October.

[norma]

We've been looking at job opportunities on various websites but was wondering if anyone could give me a better feel or pulse on how the environmental sector is and what the salaries are like.

I've asked my OH to look at this for you as this is his field. I'll hopefully post his reply tomorrow.

[sbinder]

For environmental science positions like that (local government, invasive species), I'd suggest the regional councils - ARC, Northland Regional Council, EBOP (I love that name!), etc, or possibly the district councils (not as likely). Check out http://www.lgnz.co.nz/lg-sector/maps/ for websites. ARC is presently being consolidated into the Super City so you may have to wait for positions to open there past the November big change.
Shane

[norma]

The reply from my OH who manages the environmental section within one of NZ's multidisciplinary engineering consulting firms:

At the moment the environmental market in NZ is relatively buoyant and certainly there are job opportunities out here - however there are lots of NZ local candidates out here at the moment, especially as many consultancies did not take on many fresh grads last year. So you need to expect a lot of competition from local environmental candidates.

We take fresh environmental science/engineering grads on at a starting salary of about $48K - if you have about 5 years of relevant experience you may expect to get approx. $70-80K, but this depends somewhat on the discipline and who you work for. Salaries in the public sector are likely to be lower than this.

I don't know too much about invasive species, but this is clearly an issue in NZ - mostly associated with European introduced species control. Such issues are looked after by the likes of the Department of Conservation (DoC) and through local authorities (such as the Auckland Regional Council - which will combine with the eight Auckland local authorities in November to become the new Auckland Council). You may want to try them depending upon where you want to live. If you were looking for a position on invasive species within a private practice, you could try one of the NZ ecology consultancies such as Boffa Miskell's or Wildland Consultants.

If you are looking for jobs, they virtually all go onto the Seek and Trade Me websites.

Hope this helps.

[ASM_Idaho]

Thanks all and keep 'em coming! Norma - extend my thanks to your OH for the great response.

We are keeping an eye on this job market. Ideally I would like to work for a private company instead of government, but this may just be because I've been working in govt. for the last 5 years and am fed up with the red tape and procedures. Maybe NZ govt is a bit better to work for? Both DP and I are very passionate about sustainability issues and if given the opportunity we could combine out talents and make a great team

Is solar a growing industry in NZ? In the US right now it is growing (slowly) and a few tax incentives and other initiatives are making it a more accessible energy option. We have found a bit of info on solar hot water systems in NZ but not a lot for strait photovoltaic systems.

Thanks again

Forgot to ask if it is a normal practice not to include salary in job descriptions. Seems like 75% of the jobs we've viewed do not include this .