enviro science in ul

galwayd

wel,
im a leaving cert student and am looking for info on enviromental science course, what its like and job prospects.....
am lost when it comes to the cao and an thinking this might be a option...
any info would be a help
tanx:)

pacman.podge

galwayd wrote: »

wel,
im a leaving cert student and am looking for info on enviromental science course, what its like and job prospects.....
am lost when it comes to the cao and an thinking this might be a option...
any info would be a help
tanx:)

Hey dude!! I was in the exact same position as you this time last yr!! posted the same thing and got nothing bak.. so ill try be as much help as I can
Im only in first yr. at the mo myself and I gotta to say I love it! first Yr. is about building up a knowledge of basic science. just a bit of a step up from l.c. have to say i didnt do biology for the l.c. and I find it hard but never the less its fine.
as for jobs... who knows. but basically this course is not specific.. you could work with the EPA, SEI, in companies as health and safty officers or environmental officers! but not only that you could end up working for the likes of bostin scientific..
As for the CAO it was 365 points i think last yr which isnt bad for the course!.. The CAO system is really confusing and can throw u abit!! just read into it and u'll get a understanding of it... but deffo environmental science is a great course!!! i gotta say im loving it!!
not only that... ul is just savage!!!
final thing... i was like u and didnt kno whether to choose enviro until i got a phone number off a friend who knew some1 in the course and i rang him.. he sold the course to me.. Pm me if u want any other info of u wanna ring me!

Hope i was of some help to you!!

youngshea

Hey, in third year enviro science this year.
Find it a good course, first and second year really about building up basic science with a few enviro modules thrown in to keep ya interested. Third year really gets into the enviro side of things with alot of reading and research to do yourself. Very interesting course and becoming more and more relevant as time goes on.
As for jobs only time will tell. Some problems this year with work placement, which is from jan to sept of third year. Saying that though every course is having problems placing students so wouldnt worry too much. Every industry is required to comply with environmental standards these days so jobs should be a plenty after..hopefully hope is help to ya. pm me if youve any questions but id advice ya go for it if ya like science, esp chemistry and biology.

wondering

Well I don’t really know how to spin this, I suppose I will be honest and try not to be too pessimistic.

I graduated from environmental science 2006 with 2.1 Hons degree, height of boom, would have moved anywhere to find a job, got very few interviews, even though had good result and CV. There really weren’t a hell of a lot of opportunities for new graduates.

I quit my last an environmental consultancy job a year and a half ago due to family circumstances and tried desperately to get an env. job close enough to home, but absolutely no chance, and then gave up, I hold two part time retail jobs at present.

A lot of environmental jobs that are advertised look for an additional qualification (diploma) in health and safety. I would advise to build up what ever contacts you can, even with lecturers. If you are lucky enough to get a work placement, really make sure they remember you. The best work placements would be regarded as Roche, Pfizer and Intel. Really know the pollution licence and or waste licence inside out before interview and so that you get the best out of coop.

Job wise either you go into consultancy, or industry (factory).I have worked I both, but would have preferred industry.

Pick an easy FYP, you don’t need extra hassle in fourth year, one that sounds impressive when you explain it in an interview and try and get a moderator that you can get on with easily, is easily approachable and will help you and answer questions... not all will.

The environmental science degree has gone through a few changes since I completed it, but it is still held highly. The only thing that you will find is that you will be competing with both chemists and engineers for environmental jobs and a lot of the time the engineer or chemist will win out; this is especially true of the industry based jobs.

There is also the emergence of new environmental power options, the new investment in wind, wave, tidal energies, bio fuel crops etc. again this is really an engineering field.

Basically with the environmental science degree in UL you will emerge with a good broad basis of environmental science, there are many paths that you can follow most of which you will need to study further to achieve the requirements needed, for example EIS specialist, biologist, ecologist, geologist/ hydro geologist, EHS specialist, waste specialist or wwtp specialist. Some positions also require membership of professional certified bodies also.

For jobs in county councils you will be competing with civil engineers, and usually a fair bit of experience will be needed to get one of these jobs, but as with all jobs it seams to be who you know rather than what you know.

eoinfitzokk

Galwayd,

Just to second some of those points:

Job prospects:
A lot of the current jobs advertised with online recruiters are health and safety focussed, so don’t let that fool you into thinking that’s the only line of work that you could enter.

I too completed the Envi Sci degree at UL with graduation in 2006. I found work with a soil and groundwater consultancy pretty quickly in 2006. After and over two years experience, I completed an MSc in Contaminated Land and Remediation. Contaminated Land is one of the most engineering based strands of environmental science. The work is based on contaminant identification risk assessment and remediation. Work is generally completed for the private company’s in-conjunction with the EPA and bridges the gap between an Engineer and a Scientist.

No matter what section of envi sci that you may find yourself (Ecology, IPC, Waste, WWT, Environmental Management, Con Land), the work will be varied and present different problems and solutions each week. I myself prefer working with consultancy rather than factories (opposite to wondering), but that give you a sense of how unrestricted the course is for future employment.

The course itself (in my day) is science based and is essential when understanding complex problems associated with Environmental Impact Assessments. As a graduate, I can confirm that the UL course is held in good regard by employers, but it is up to you to prove how you stand out from the other courses.

The COOP education programme is one of the best and most successful features of the UL course. A previous employer told me that it is one of the principle reasons why I stood out from other graduates from other colleges. At the end of the day, every employer seeks work experience and to have that as you graduate is a bonus.

Think long term rather than short term, at the moment there are not a lot of jobs circulating in my line of work and in environmental consultancy. But, in less than 5 years time when you graduate, you can be certain that capital renewable energy projects will come to the fore and major investment will come to fruit. I just hope that you won’t miss out!!

I also agree what wondering said about further study, don’t be surprised if employers look for an MSc in a specific discipline as a prerequisite for a job by the time you have graduated. Although the UL course give a very good background knowledge where you could enter various aspects of envi sci, specific further study may be required to focus in on your career path later.

Any questions, give me a pm and goodluck.

P.S. Hello to fellow class mate wondering!!!

Fitz

lemon125

Hi,
I also did Env Science in UL and currently work as a WWTP manager. The glamour industry!! But its a good course, its pretty general but looking back at the modules they do give a fair level of knowledge to the graduate (not sure about now) and its either luck or what you go for where you end up regards the jobs front. There might not be plenty of jobs but you'd pick up a lab job in a wwtp handy or an industry to get you started. As the posters said above, you could end up in various places, few classmates off hand, waste management company, county council, consultancy, teacher... anything. I did a diploma in health and safety in UL (evening) as they do kinda ask for it, but it didnt help me get the job im in as I had it before I did the course. The people in my class were varied, interesting and all from different backgrounds, small class (28) and mostly women. Because its so small you get to know the lecturers and your class mates alot more than some other classes so like Business etc. A few down sides! If you do work in an industry which has an IPC license, e.g glue factory, then one of your jobs will probably dealing with irate members of the public who’s washing is ruined because of the smell you were generating when a new batch of product was emptied or started. Also a lot of report writing necessary for most of these env jobs. The good side is you will be mentally challenged every day with problem solving, that’s what I think the degree sets you up for, you’ll more than likely be on your feet, busy and for the most part interesting work. That’s my few cents, best of luck with your decision whatever you chose. UL is a great college too for the social aspect

wondering

Hi Fitz

Absolute Zero

Hi, just asking another question while the topic is up here.

What is the maths part of the course like, id like to know if maths or physics plays a big part in the course and if so how hard would they be?

im not too great at maths but i do have the b3 in maths to get into the course and after doing a computing course which was quite maths intensive i was looking at my original choice of course which was enviromental science because it looks very interesting and the information given in this thread has been great. thanks.

lemon125

i dont know what it is like now, but when i was there is was only two modules of Maths and i think two of physics. I only had Biology as a science subject and got on grand. So i had to catch up on chemistry and physics. One lad one had only physics. Anyway in first year you get the basics to let everyone be on a level playing field for second year and after that everyone is learnign something new. I know the physics class was small enough so the chance to get help was very high. I wouldnt let match and physics put you off. Have you Chemistry, because this i felt was the hardest as I had no backgound in it all.

Absolute Zero

lemon125 wrote: »

i dont know what it is like now, but when i was there is was only two modules of Maths and i think two of physics. I only had Biology as a science subject and got on grand. So i had to catch up on chemistry and physics. One lad one had only physics. Anyway in first year you get the basics to let everyone be on a level playing field for second year and after that everyone is learnign something new. I know the physics class was small enough so the chance to get help was very high. I wouldnt let match and physics put you off. Have you Chemistry, because this i felt was the hardest as I had no backgound in it all.

NO i havent done chemistry in leaving cert all i did was biology , After the first year does the course continue to have a big maths focus or is all of this just done in the first year?

youngshea

Absolute Zero wrote: »

NO i havent done chemistry in leaving cert all i did was biology , After the first year does the course continue to have a big maths focus or is all of this just done in the first year?

No, maths is only done in first year. I did pass maths for my leaving cert and no chemistry,was out of school for three years before going back to college. I found it ok so I wouldnt worry about the maths side of things. The two modules are designed to bring people up to a leaving cert honours standard and are straight forward enough. Plus you only have to get a pass in first year modules so you should be able to get through them.
I also hadnt chemistry for my leaving cert and to be honest found this the hardest part of the first two years. I concentrated on just passing my chemistry exams and using my other modules to bring up the QCA. To be honest a bit of work at them and you should be grand. Everybody is in the same boat with it so everyone is willing to help each other along. Heres a link to the course outline if you havent seen it already.

http://www2.ul.ie/web/WWW/Faculties/Science_&_Engineering/Departments/Chemical_&_Environmental_Science/Courses/Environmental_Science/Documentation?did=269531007&pageUrl=/WWW/Faculties/Science+%26+Engineering/Departments/Chemical+%26+Environmental+Science/Courses/Environmental+Science/Documentation

wondering

Oh yea get someone’s notes, really, I got through 4 years without notes, not the easiest way.

If you have notes you have lots of spare time to go drinking, enjoying yourself.

Don’t buy any books either, waste of money, unless you are building up a library for your own use.

I'll probably get banned for this but....
2.1 Hons Bsc. Science (Environmental Science) Degree Certificate for sale, in perfect condition, only used once, one careful lady owner.
2000 yoyos o.n.o. Will accept trade for equivalent degree, or job position.

wondering

Ok i had to revisit this, to state that i'm only messing... before i get too tempted.:rolleyes: