Annual Salary
£25,000 to £50,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to New energy or Water, gas, oil, etc. or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Swap to New energy or Water, gas, oil, etc. or go back to all job sectors or go to green jobs
Environmental consultants advise on sustainability, including waste management, recycling, flood risk and the effects of climate change.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings; occasionally
There will be
2.4% more Environmental consultant jobs in 2027.
As an environmental consultant, you could:
Green job
As an environmental consultant, you'll make sure the design, construction and operation of a building project meets environmental and sustainability standards. This can have a positive impact on the environment.
Find out more about green careers
You could work in an office or at a client's business.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and you'll travel often.
You can get into this job through:
You'll usually need a degree or postgraduate qualification in environmental science, environmental studies or environmental sustainability.
You might also be able to take a related subject like:
You'll usually need:
You could start by applying to do an Environmental Practitioner Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.
This can take up to 5 years to complete.
You'll usually need:
Volunteering is a great way of getting experience and a taste of environmental work. It will also give you the opportunity to develop your skills and make contacts.
Organisations who offer volunteering opportunities include:
You can find more opportunities through the Countryside Jobs Service.
As a graduate you could look for environmental postgraduate training positions offered through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).
In a KTP, you get the opportunity to run a research project together with an organisation and a university or research body. You may also work towards postgraduate qualifications.
You can join the Society for the Environment for your professional development and to make industry contacts.
You can discover more about environmental work and training through the:Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management; Green Careers Hub
With experience, you could:move into a senior or principal consultant position; apply for chartered environmentalist status; work as a lecturer in education; run your own consultancy business; get involved in environmental research
Environmental consultants are needed to advise local authorities, landowners and businesses in the West of England on sustainability, including waste management, recycling, flood risk and the effects of climate change.
There are several different routes you can take to get into working as an Environmental Scientist which you can explore further in the 'Routes into this job' section above.
Click here for an explanation of the different course and apprenticeship levels.
Click here to find a local provider
Click here to search for a local apprenticeship
Click here to search for other university courses
For more local employment opportunities see the 'Live job vacancies by region' section above.
Volunteering is a great way to build experience in ecology and environmental studies and may improve your chances of finding paid work. You can also build up contacts within conservation, which will be useful when looking for jobs. You can find local volunteering opportunities with: Bristol Avon Rivers Trust and Avon Wildlife Trust.
Click here for a profile of Helena Preston, a Flood Risk and Drainage Engineer at Cole Easdon Consultants in Swindon.
Environmental Consultants use space data as a tool to understand the quality of a habitat, respond to environmental accidents and monitor biodiversity.
Examples of post-16 courses you could study at a local school or college
A-level Geography, Biology or Environmental Science
Examples of post-18 courses you could study at a local provider in the South West
BSc (Hons) Environmental Geography at Plymouth University
BSc (Hons) Conservation Biology and Ecology at University of Exeter
Apprenticeships you may be able to take with local employers
Level 6 Environmental Practitioner
Level 7 Ecologist (degree apprenticeship)
Search for apprenticeship vacancies
Employers in the South West
You'll need: