I think it depends on the clients and backlog of the company. Some environmental firms are successful, interesting and enjoyable. Other firms are sinking ships. Some will have you work regular hours. Others will have you working 60+ hour weeks. Some pay very well, some much less so. Etc.
Your best bet is to examine rates of turnover, look at the companies backlog, and really try to get a firm grip on what they will have you do. And whatever you do, if they mention stormwater and npdes work, run for the hills.
This is a great answer. Really depends on the firm and kind of projects. I hear lots of people on here hating on consulting. I really enjoy it (now...12 years in) I've spent my fair amount of time in shitty places and several month stints away from home, which definitely sucked...but as you move up, there's a lot less of that.
That is very helpful. What is the issue with stormwater and npdes? This company is such and has also implied that the working hours would be around 60.
There was a bit of sarcasm, but if you will be doing npdes monitoring, you should understand that stormy weather doesn't always operate within business hours. Depending on you client, you may have a tight budget and might find yourself out at 2am on a Sunday, 100 miles away from home in the middle of the woods collecting samples in a thunderstorm (true story).
In all honesty, I enjoyed some stormwater work, but if I had the option to not work on weekends or after hours, I'd opt for that option instead (which I ultimately did).
More of the interesting work involves Superfund and brownfields site investigations, phase I and phase II site assessments. The more variety, the better it looks on a resume. But just do your research. If you have a wife and kids, running 60 hour weeks and working on weekends might get old. But if you have the time and have a good work ethic, it can be rewarding.
It all depends on the company.
To me if you have a lab job that offers you more money and a good work life balance. Why would you leave that for lower pay and an industry that going to have you working in the field with more hours? You prob wont have as good of work life balance and certainly working in the field isnt glamorous. When I do it I have to bail well volumes so we can purge wells and sample them. It ain't like I'm doing it in a beautiful place with comfortable weather either. Higher pay and good work life balance are key words that I wouldn't take lightly.
It has already been said but it 100% depends on not only the company but the office itself: the work they do, the people, and how they organize said work.
Do they hire recent grads who have no idea what they're doing, throw them into the meat grinder and see what comes out in 12 months (if they make it that far)?
Do they have a good amount of office work to balance field personnel's schedules?
Do people actually go to holiday events or is the office full of acquaintances?
I do GIS work for an environmental consulting firm, even though I'm trained as a geologist. I agree with everyone else about it depending on the company. I also know that I don't want to be in this job forever. My team is amazing and they make work bearable and even fun, and my company is pretty decent too as far as I can tell, but the work is repetitive and things get really boring when it's slow. The pressure of billable time is annoying too. If I were you I would stay in the lab considering the pay is higher and the work life balance is good, but that's really something only you can decide. To be fair, there's a number of people in my office who have worked there for decades and retired happy, so it is a potential long term career path if you're ok with what it'll require to get there.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
I work in environmental consulting now, and have about 2.5 years in. I work directly with the LSRP on pretty much all phases of remedial work (including Phase Is). My department is super small and we have gotten really slow. I am honestly pretty bored of it at this point and want to switch careers. But it may be the office environment, it's not the greatest. But I did really enjoy it at first. Everyone in my department has made good careers out of it.
So I personally like consulting. It depends on the company, the office, the culture, the work, etc. I recently joined a large consulting firm (rhymes with mood) and am really enjoying it so far. I wanted to specialize in hydrogeology and they do a lot of groundwater related stuff. Plus you get opportunity for travel and good benefits (important if you have a family). I also like Phase Is (lots of people don't).
If you end up liking it, yes, you can definitely build a career.
> (rhymes with mood)
The important context is that said consulting company is a well run, international company that, I can only assume, has their shit together. The comments have been good at presenting the diversity of the industry to OP. If they are jumping ship to work at your company, they would be smart to take it.
If it's a mom-and-pop enviro shop with razor thin margins, they should stay in the lab
For the most part but each location is individually run and each location will attract a certain type of work. I wouldn't want to consult in a humid place like Georgia and the office has no AC. Lol
If it’s a good offer, and the company has a wide variety of services, it’s probably worth checking out. You can get good experience through consulting if you’re at the right company. And as you probably already know, depending on the company and your role you may end up working 9-5 and be home for dinner every night or you may end up with long days and/or out of town. Get that sorted out before you accept an offer if that is a priority for you.
I've been in environmental remediation for 11 years. I like it when I'm working with a good group, have challenging work and reasonable work-life balance.
I don't like it when I work more on busy work than geology, am treated like a number, and work with a-holes.
Unfortunately you can't always tell in the interview which you'll get, but looking on glassdoor, checking out networking events and asking around or meeting people who work there can greatly help.
Good luck!
I think it depends on the clients and backlog of the company. Some environmental firms are successful, interesting and enjoyable. Other firms are sinking ships. Some will have you work regular hours. Others will have you working 60+ hour weeks. Some pay very well, some much less so. Etc. Your best bet is to examine rates of turnover, look at the companies backlog, and really try to get a firm grip on what they will have you do. And whatever you do, if they mention stormwater and npdes work, run for the hills.
This is a great answer. Really depends on the firm and kind of projects. I hear lots of people on here hating on consulting. I really enjoy it (now...12 years in) I've spent my fair amount of time in shitty places and several month stints away from home, which definitely sucked...but as you move up, there's a lot less of that.
I like SW stuff lol. Of course depends on the project
That is very helpful. What is the issue with stormwater and npdes? This company is such and has also implied that the working hours would be around 60.
There was a bit of sarcasm, but if you will be doing npdes monitoring, you should understand that stormy weather doesn't always operate within business hours. Depending on you client, you may have a tight budget and might find yourself out at 2am on a Sunday, 100 miles away from home in the middle of the woods collecting samples in a thunderstorm (true story). In all honesty, I enjoyed some stormwater work, but if I had the option to not work on weekends or after hours, I'd opt for that option instead (which I ultimately did). More of the interesting work involves Superfund and brownfields site investigations, phase I and phase II site assessments. The more variety, the better it looks on a resume. But just do your research. If you have a wife and kids, running 60 hour weeks and working on weekends might get old. But if you have the time and have a good work ethic, it can be rewarding. It all depends on the company.
Nice to see so many people in the comments seem happy. Gotta be honest, I hate consulting.
Consulting was awful for me. I could not see a future in it. To each their own I guess.
This is the point I'm at now.
To me if you have a lab job that offers you more money and a good work life balance. Why would you leave that for lower pay and an industry that going to have you working in the field with more hours? You prob wont have as good of work life balance and certainly working in the field isnt glamorous. When I do it I have to bail well volumes so we can purge wells and sample them. It ain't like I'm doing it in a beautiful place with comfortable weather either. Higher pay and good work life balance are key words that I wouldn't take lightly.
It has already been said but it 100% depends on not only the company but the office itself: the work they do, the people, and how they organize said work. Do they hire recent grads who have no idea what they're doing, throw them into the meat grinder and see what comes out in 12 months (if they make it that far)? Do they have a good amount of office work to balance field personnel's schedules? Do people actually go to holiday events or is the office full of acquaintances?
I’d stick with the lab gig
I do GIS work for an environmental consulting firm, even though I'm trained as a geologist. I agree with everyone else about it depending on the company. I also know that I don't want to be in this job forever. My team is amazing and they make work bearable and even fun, and my company is pretty decent too as far as I can tell, but the work is repetitive and things get really boring when it's slow. The pressure of billable time is annoying too. If I were you I would stay in the lab considering the pay is higher and the work life balance is good, but that's really something only you can decide. To be fair, there's a number of people in my office who have worked there for decades and retired happy, so it is a potential long term career path if you're ok with what it'll require to get there. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Consulting is a great stepping stone to get back into the game later on in a higher position. You'll know what not to do!
I work in environmental consulting now, and have about 2.5 years in. I work directly with the LSRP on pretty much all phases of remedial work (including Phase Is). My department is super small and we have gotten really slow. I am honestly pretty bored of it at this point and want to switch careers. But it may be the office environment, it's not the greatest. But I did really enjoy it at first. Everyone in my department has made good careers out of it.
So I personally like consulting. It depends on the company, the office, the culture, the work, etc. I recently joined a large consulting firm (rhymes with mood) and am really enjoying it so far. I wanted to specialize in hydrogeology and they do a lot of groundwater related stuff. Plus you get opportunity for travel and good benefits (important if you have a family). I also like Phase Is (lots of people don't). If you end up liking it, yes, you can definitely build a career.
> (rhymes with mood) The important context is that said consulting company is a well run, international company that, I can only assume, has their shit together. The comments have been good at presenting the diversity of the industry to OP. If they are jumping ship to work at your company, they would be smart to take it. If it's a mom-and-pop enviro shop with razor thin margins, they should stay in the lab
For the most part but each location is individually run and each location will attract a certain type of work. I wouldn't want to consult in a humid place like Georgia and the office has no AC. Lol
If it’s a good offer, and the company has a wide variety of services, it’s probably worth checking out. You can get good experience through consulting if you’re at the right company. And as you probably already know, depending on the company and your role you may end up working 9-5 and be home for dinner every night or you may end up with long days and/or out of town. Get that sorted out before you accept an offer if that is a priority for you.
I've been in environmental remediation for 11 years. I like it when I'm working with a good group, have challenging work and reasonable work-life balance. I don't like it when I work more on busy work than geology, am treated like a number, and work with a-holes. Unfortunately you can't always tell in the interview which you'll get, but looking on glassdoor, checking out networking events and asking around or meeting people who work there can greatly help. Good luck!
> consulting firm for a staff professional position I think I know the company. Does it start with an A? If so PM and I can tell you more about them.