Versatile - Rewarding - Inspiring - Impactful
Improving lives and communities through occupations and careers in Earth, ocean, atmospheric, climate, planetary or environmental sciences.

What can I do with my Science degree?

Versatile career options

You gain so much more from EOAS degree specializations ...

  • Multidisciplinary skills and knowledge; math, computing, physics, environment & climate science, geology, resource stewardship, oceanography, engineering… . 
  • Rigorous foundations acquired in context; basic science becomes meaningful when learned within important and inspiring contexts. 
  • Versatile, current and future-ready skills that employers are looking for; EOAS programs  provide the optimal balance of fundamental knowledge and career-ready skills. 
  • Capabilities for addressing society’s major challenges: Your EOAS degree enables you to contribute to rigorous, respectful and responsible decision-making regarding climate change, resource stewardship, environmental & natural hazards management, and others.
  • Professional registration: EOAS degrees enable you to prepare for registration as a professional engineer, geoscientist or biologist in British Columbia. 

Mountainous region natural hazards: a major debris flow blocks a river and threatens a village in the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan. Photo F. Jones.

Showcasing professionals and employers

Diverse professionals with Earth, ocean, atmospheric or environmental science degree backgrounds are showcased on the following pages.  

  • EOAS alumni spotlights; meet these and others … 
    • geophysics graduate & consulting field geophysicist (UBC profile)
    • atmospheric science (ATSC) graduate & winning yacht race skipper
    • ATSC graduate & wind energy data analyst
    • environmental science graduate & associate lawyer (UBC profile)
    • geologist & museum curator
    • Geological engineer, sustainability advocate & politician
  • Meet creative EOAS staff, faculty & students: See more at EOAS news page; select category “People”.
  • Geophysicist, instrumentation engineer & educator: Francis Jones, MSc.
  • ...

Discover career prospects, current demand, and emerging trends at the regularly updated Geoscience Workforce section of the American Geosciences Institute (AGI). Especially inspiring is AGI’s page “Careers that Change the World”. 

The July 2022 issue of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) science news magazine “EOS” includes 19 career pathway mini-essays. Open this drop-down section for pointers: 

Your prospects with EOAS qualifications from UBC

The rapidly changing future of energy, mineral and water resources, environmental stewardship, climate change and hazard assessment present challenges to society. Our graduates are those who will address these pressing issues. 
Click sections below for more about the work of professionals with EOAS degrees. 

Meteorologist at Indonesia Meteorological and Geophysical Agency, BMKGWork in: air quality, meteorology, environmental consulting, weather forecasting, as pilots, air-traffic controllers, fire-weather forecasters, weather-software and app developers, and TV meteorologists.

Provide expertise for the public, corporate, agriculture, aviation, transportation, insurance, commerce, air quality, and other sectors. 

Work may involve: deploying field instruments, making observations, retrieving large public/commercial datasets, analysis, data science, or programming

Skills acquired: include math, physics, data science, meteorology, communication, teamwork, computer programming, project management, and more.

More details:

Work as consultants or principles in the energy, resources and water sectors, to assess hazards, or conduct fundamental research to better understand our planet from local to global scales.

Provide expertise in math/physics/computing to ensure effective decisions regarding the environment, energy, resources, construction, natural hazards and many other issues critical to an efficient, sustainable, equitable society. 

Work may involve: Use surface, airborne & satellite methods to gather data for visualization, modeling and analysis of Earth’s surface and subsurface. Communicating complex results, phenomena & data sets to decision makers is also important. 

Skills acquired: rigorous understanding of how, when and why to apply methods involving mathematics, physics, computing, modeling & data science. Geophysicists are often the first to conceive and develop these state-of-the-art computing and instrumentation technologies. 

More details …

Work in: research labs and industries ranging from fisheries and resources to coastal ecosystem management and tourism.

Provide expertise for local, industrial, government and environmental organizations affecting policy, community safety and sustainability, food and climate justice, commerce, and education.

Work may involve: computing, data processing and analysis, lab work, ships, boats, coastal field settings, local, regional or global communities and organizations, public or academic education, and more. 

Skills acquired: You will be the most interdisciplinary of Earth science professionals since the Oceans are such a complex system of physical, chemical and biological processes - all interacting at depth and at interfaces including air/water, ocean/land, sea/rivers. 

More details …

As a Geological Engineering graduate you will be in high demand and have a wide selection of career opportunities to choose from. Senior Geological Engineers become international experts, with many serving as CEO's or owning consulting companies.

Work in: You will contribute in the natural resources, environmental protection, civil infrastructure, natural hazards, water management, energy or related sectors.

Provide expertise for infrastructure construction and maintenance, the resource, water and energy sectors, hazards mitigation and more. 

Work may involve: field and office work, consulting, project design, computing and modelling, community and engagement with commercial and public sectors. 

Skills acquired: the math, physics & geology for project design or evaluation, project management, working with teams and communicating as an expert consultant. 

More details …

Work in: mineral, energy, and water resource industries; With industry or research experience, geologists may also work as consultants or in government or NGO settings. Others dedicate their careers to research in academia or geoscience education 

Provide expertise in industry, consulting, government academic or international & NGO settings. 

Work usually involves: a stimulating combination of field, laboratory, computing, office, consulting or team work and communication with clients, public or partners. 

Skills acquired: A geologist’s unique combination of skills and knowledge encompasses the Earth’s composition, history, and  processes, including:

  • chemical and physical properties of minerals, rocks, and fluids
  • history & evolution of life
  • formation and distribution of critical mineral deposits
  • Hazards including earthquakes, volcanoes and unstable ground
  • the quality, distribution and management of groundwater

More details:

Work in: research, government, consulting, industry, law, medicine, occupational health, education or advocacy. 

Provide expertise for local / regional / global policy making, international development, journalism, food systems management, sustainable business, forestry and energy practice, resource stewardship, environmental consulting or transportation and urban planning.

Work may involve community engagement, field measurements, lab work, computing, writing, teaching, consulting, food and climate justice - virtually any setting. 

Skills acquired: interdisciplinary science, a systems understanding of environmental challenges, critical thinking and research skills, teamwork, project management, communication.  

More details:

Earth and Ocean Sciences is a flexible specialization encompassing the broad spectrum of disciplines within EOAS.

You can choose to focus on geology, geophysics, oceanography or atmospheric sciences or choose courses for a broader overview of Earth Sciences.

Your qualifications will prepare you for further studies or occupations in education, pre-med, law, journalism, or other disciplines.

More details:

Specific options at UBC

You can pursue a BSc Majors or Honors degree in one of seven different specializations, or choose a Combined Majors or Combined Honors degree by combining two of these or one plus another subject at UBC. See the EOAS Degrees page for details

Seek out advice and discover opportunities for scholarships, work experiences, and EOAS student accomplishments and activities including clubs, communities and social or job-related networking events.