Photo Credit: Local Government Federal Credit Union

The official title of the position was Environmental Advocate for Clean Water Action. It was an environmental policy and advocacy job and I worked there for a little over a year. Previously, I worked in outdoor retail stores and have a degree in Outdoor Education, so at that point I had approximately five years of experience in the field. To describe myself, I would be passionate, dedicated and reliable.

I am a white male and in this position, this would sometimes help or hinder me depending on the area I was working. I do not believe that I have ever had a specific incident where there was outright discrimination towards me.

As an Environmental Advocate, I was responsible for going door to door and talk with people about a particular environmental issue. The goal was to get support for the cause through signatures and also get donations for Clean Water Action. It involved a lot of walking and required you to have a thick skin when talking with some people. A common misunderstanding people had was that they often did not believe they could make a difference simply by signing a petition or donating a small amount of money.

The job satisfaction for this position was usually a 6. It was rewarding when you got to speak with a person who was behind the environmental movement or when you were able to open someone’s eyes to the issues. Since it was essentially a sales job, it was quite demanding and stressful at times. Complete confidence is needed to succeed in this.

The environment has always been important to me, so this was more than a job. It was a chance to change the way people think and make a difference. If I had more of a knack for sales at that point in my career, I may have stayed longer in this position.

There is nothing particularly unique about my situation.

I first fell in love with the outdoors at summer camp as a child. I worked at camps for many years, and then went to college for Outdoor Education. Once I got out of college, I thought I was going to find the perfect job where I would be a Naturalist and then settle down from there. Reality snuck in and I was searching for something in the environmental field. This position was open in the city I was looking to live in, so it was the perfect fit. A career path is usually winding and interesting, so I would honestly not change anything with my particular path.
Rejection was a difficult lesson in this particular position. Learning to accept this and simply move on to the next person is all that you can do. After getting a less than great reception from some people on the first day of work, I realized that it is a part of the job.

The most important thing that I have learned is that no matter what position or job is held, it is always best to do the job to the best or your ability.

Since this position involved going door to door, you would encounter a lot of interesting people every day. The strangest thing to happen would have been when I was invited in a person’s house and he proceeded to tell me about his preparations in the event there was some sort of environmental disaster. He was a bit of an extremist, but did support the cause I was working with.

The reason for going to this job each day was simply because it was making a difference in the environment. On those days where I was able to convince a person to care more about the environment, I felt proud and successful.

With this position, the challenge was always to make the daily and weekly quotas. It was basically a sales job and this was often quite difficult.
When sales are difficult, this job could be quite stressful. I always wanted to perform to the best of my ability and some days were harder than others. It was a day shift job with decent hours, so I was able to maintain a decent work-life balance. Once I was home for the day, I was done working and focused on my home life.

The salary range varies quite a bit. It was an hourly position that started at $12 an hour, but there were bonuses on top of that based on the performance each week. The salary was fine for a single person, but could not support more than that.

There was ample vacation time. I was usually able to take at least five days off for a small vacation each year.

The main skills that are needed would have to be an ability to sell to people and be comfortable with speaking in potentially difficult situations. The only other requirement would be a love for the environment and the ability to get behind a cause. In this position, a particular educational background was not necessarily more beneficial than another.

For a person considering this line of work, I would say that it takes determination to succeed to do this as a long term position. It can be stressful and it takes the right person to do well at it.

Since working in this position, I have moved up in the ranks and have been working in management positions. In five years, I would like to see myself as a high level manager.

This is a true career story as told to AllEnvironmentalalJobs.com and is one of many interviews with environmental professionals, which among others include an environmental scientist and an environmental operations manager.