How to Transition to a Climate Job

Most of the advice for breaking into a climate career is now dangerously out of date. For years, the playbook has been singular: learn about solar, wind and EVs. That advice just became a fraction of the story. Last week, the Australian Government released two landmark documents: the National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan. More than simply policy papers, they are a formal declaration that a second, parallel climate economy is here. The '𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆'. Backed by a A$9 billion commitment, the focus is no longer just on preventing future change. It’s on managing the reality that’s already here. The Risk Assessment provides the sobering 'why', confirming in stark detail the cascading impacts on our infrastructure, economy and communities. The Adaptation Plan provides the 'how', like investing in nature-based solutions such as the mangrove ecosystems that protect our coastlines (pictured). It creates a vast new frontier for career-transitioners. And it’s already the lived reality of the professionals building this new economy, many of whom are members of our Climate Crew community. It requires the urban planning skills of leaders like Roland Chanin-Morris of Ramboll, who is designing our future resilient cities. But physical assets are only half the picture. True resilience is built at the community level, which is why the strategic engagement work of founders like Nicole Dennis of Cobalt Engagement – leading those complex on-the-ground conversations – is now an essential service. This new reality also demands a new kind of strategist. People like Josue Castro of BWD Strategic, who has pivoted his high-level government experience to help organisations navigate climate risk, and systems thinkers like Oliver Dykes at Deloitte, who redesign entire organisations for a resilient future. Underpinning it all is a revolution in finance, driven by innovators like Renate Crollini of Adaluma Tech, who is building the tools to embed risk into capital decisions, guided by the global expertise of policy architects like Linda Romanovska of Melomys Advisory, who co-authors the international frameworks that make this possible. If you are a career seeker, I encourage you to connect with the people whose work you find most relevant. This is what Climate Crew is for: to make the connections that build the future. The message is clear. We don't 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 need renewable energy engineers. We need builders, planners, financiers and organisers. Your skills are now climate skills. The opportunity to find your life's work in climate has never been greater. #ClimateCareers #ClimateAdaptation #GreenJobs #ClimateAction #CareerTransition #NationalAdaptationPlan #WorkOnClimate Image: Mangroves in Woy Woy, NSW. Sourced from the National Adaptation Plan (Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water). © Commonwealth of Australia. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

Want to break into climate? I’ve had over 200 career calls with climate job seekers within the past year. Here are the 4 most commonly asked questions and my best answers: ⭐ How can I get a head start in college?  • Focus your coursework and internships on an expertise/industry pair, like marketing and sustainable fashion, business and regenerative agriculture, or data science and energy. • If you can’t decide on a niche, build versatile skills like finance, engineering, design, and sales. These skills are needed across climate-focused organizations. • Most recommended internship board: EDICT Internship Program by Elemental Excelerator 💫 How can I switch to climate from another industry? • Opportunities can be found in solution-focused organizations (e.g., Pachama, Kevala), sustainability/CSR teams (e.g., Carhartt, Adobe), and governmental offices (e.g., NYC Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)). • Many people try to overhaul their entire career. Instead, try changing only one variable at a time: seek a similar role in a new industry or a new role in a familiar industry (eg; marketing in fashion → marketing at a SaaS company like Recurate). • Mentorship, freelancing, and certificates can bridge the gap in industry experience. • Most recommended mentorship opportunities: Third Derivative and GrowthMentor ✨ How do I choose a niche?  • Standing out in climate requires being a near-perfect fit. Find the intersection of what you're good at, what you love, what you can be paid for, and what's needed across climate efforts. • Hop on career calls with folks across domains and industries to learn more about the day-to-day of their roles. • Most recommended starting points for market research: Climatebase, Work on Climate, CareerOneStop, and Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) 🌎 Do I need to join a program like Terra.do, Work on Climate, or OnePointFive (opf.degree)?  • These programs are helpful but not necessary. Free resources like coaching calls, videos, and podcasts can be valuable too. • Remember that “climate” isn’t really a standalone job! Consider how you can provide value to a climate-focused team and focus on building credibility in your desired solution sector (energy, agriculture, etc.). • Most recommended programs: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Reforge, and Stanford University's certificates. -- Interested in a free careers session? • Check out the Work on Climate Expert Office Hours list and the #OpenDoorClimate list, launched by Daniel Hill. Interested in breaking into climate as a marketer? • Here's a comprehensive guide I put together: https://lnkd.in/gUqyFh_b I did my best to keep this post short. If anybody has more they’d like to add for climate job seekers, please add it to the comments. Thank you! Illustration by @tatooine_girl

The climate job market is tough right now. Layoffs, hiring freezes, and lots of talented people searching without much guidance. That’s why Max Pisciotta, Ph.D. and I pulled together a practical guide for folks looking to break into (or stay in) carbon removal. We wanted to make the search a little less overwhelming - and hopefully a little more human. Inside you’ll find: 🌍 Seven solid job boards (actually worth your time) 🏢 A database of 1,000+ climate companies 🤝 Communities to plug into for support and networking 📊 A map of where people actually get hired in CDR 💡 Tips for staying sane and avoiding burnout along the way If you’re job searching - or supporting someone who is - we hope this helps: https://lnkd.in/ghy4D5bH

A lot of people in oil & gas want to move into carbon management — but get stuck on the same question: “How do I sell my upstream experience in a completely different part of the energy space?” The good news? You don’t have to throw away your O&G background. You just need to translate it. Here’s how I usually break it down for clients: ➤ Inventory your transferable skills. If you’ve managed emissions reporting, flare minimization, leak detection, or process optimization, you already have carbon-relevant experience. ➤ Learn the lingo. Carbon capture, CCUS, ESG reporting, Scope 1/2/3 — these terms show up in every job posting. You need to be able to speak to them in plain English and industry context. ➤ Target adjacent roles first. Think environmental compliance, sustainability reporting, or emissions management within an O&G company. From there, you can jump to a pure carbon management role in energy or heavy industry. ➤ Build proof fast. Volunteer for a carbon-related project at your current job or take a focused certification — it gives hiring managers something concrete to point to. One example: Earlier this year, I worked with a professional who had 13+ years in upstream operations. I rebuilt his resume and LinkedIn to highlight the parts of his role tied to emissions reduction, water reuse, and operational efficiency. I reframed his “production optimization” achievements in terms of carbon impact, added a targeted certification, and positioned him for broader “energy” roles. Within two months, he was interviewing for carbon management positions at both supermajors and engineering firms — without having to start over at entry level. The key is recognizing that you already have a foundation — you just need to package it for a different conversation. #oilandgas #energytransition #carbonmanagement #engineering #energystrong

Take off the geoscience career blinders. If you're a mid-career geoscientist in the Oil and Gas industry, sometimes it can be difficult to picture yourself doing anything else. You can clearly see your technical skills used in Oil and Gas, and you probably can easily translate them to Energy Transition and Sustainability (like critical minerals and climate risk analysis). But what else is there? There's plenty. Below is a listing of all the skills-adjacent roles I have seen in job descriptions over the past couple of months. Some may require some up-skilling, but don't rule them out. 𝟭. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 & 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 • Big data integration from sensor networks • Machine learning for subsurface prediction • Geospatial data analysis (GIS, remote sensing) 𝟮. 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 • Stakeholder engagement with technical depth • Managing complex, interdisciplinary projects in energy or environmental sectors 𝟯. 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 • Catastrophe risk assessment for natural disasters • Insurance underwriting models using geoscience data 𝟰. 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 & 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 • SaaS products for energy analytics or mapping • Specialized equipment for subsurface imaging, drilling, or monitoring 𝟱. 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 • UX/UI design for scientific modeling tools • Product ownership for geology-focused platforms Take some time to give these serious consideration. Your skills in risk and uncertainty, data handling, model building, integrating concepts and project management are all highly translatable. Need help thinking it through? Reach out and let's discuss options.

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼, 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗱. So many solutions, so many paths. I made plenty of mistakes before I found my niche. If I could go back, here’s what I wish I knew: 🔬 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. I started with books like ‘How to Avoid a Climate Disaster’ by Bill Gates and Speed&Scale by John Doerr. These books were helpful, but were very tech and VC-centered perspectives. Project Regeneration’s Cascade of Solutions was ultimately a better, more objective, and comprehensive resource. 📕 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. Work on Climate’s #i-got-a-job channel is full of successful climate transition journeys by engineers, designers, marketers, PhD candidates, and more. 👋 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. Terra was mine, but My Climate Journey (MCJ), Work on Climate, or Job Search Councils are great options. 😡 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. What do you want to protect from climate change? Who do you want to build for? What pisses you off? Your answers can point you to your niche. ⚓ 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲. If possible, keep your role & location the same while switching to climate—it makes the transition easier. 🚗 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀: come up with 2-3 ideas for where you might fit. This could be a climate solution (residential solar), a type of organization (large environmental nonprofit), or even a way to effect change in your current role. Use networking, side projects, or small actions to validate your fit. 🤝 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲: The Open Door Climate directory is full of folks happy to chat. After many twists & turns, I focused on software product management roles at climate tech startups where business and climate incentives were aligned. This led me to organizations like food waste and renewable energy, and away from areas like carbon removal. What climate niches are you interested in? How are you finding where you fit?

People looking to make a difference for climate through their work tend to consider two extremes: 1. Find a climate job on a climate team at a climate company working with climate people 2. Stay in your current job, but make it more sustainable (and to be completely honest, most only consider the first one) In option 1, you're at the mercy of the job market. In option 2, you're at the mercy of your organization's conditions. The objective should be to chart your own path and find your own way to make a unique contribution - actively, without being at anybody's mercy. Being in the mindset of a curious and relentless leader who simply refuses to get stuck. As we say in Russia, "kick him out the door, he climbs in the window". What might that look like? - If you can't find a climate job, move the power of your current job - If your organization doesn't welcome change, move to an organization that does - If your organization doesn't have leverage over anything climate-related, move to an organization that does - If you are not the right person to create the change, build a relationship with someone who is, and get them on your side - If you don't know anyone, build a community that will attract someone who does - If you can't create the change in your organization, then create it in your professional community - invite your peers to events, scout climate speakers for your conferences, get involved in your industry standards bodies (likely not as hard as you think) - If you're not ready to lead anything, then focus on getting ready to lead in the future: build many relationships in your industry - If you're in a bad place and can't do any of this, then focus on getting to a good place but then come back - If you're confused, ask for help, publicly, people will eagerly help you, it's that kind of space - If you're too shy to do that, work on developing your confidence (e.g. take a smaller risk), and then try again - And so on, and so on. There is always a next step.

How to be more intentional about your career direction (especially if you want to work on climate): Think in phases. 1) Explore Phase - Figure out what's possible, what's needed, and what gives you energy. → 💼 Employees: Map what your company is doing today and learn what resources are available by talking to other people at your org (Green Teams, educational programs, existing services / product offerings, etc.). Read your company's sustainability report to get a baseline understanding of priorities and progress. Research emerging sustainability + business trends in your industry. Look at what competitors are doing. → 🧭 Job Seekers: The job search can't start until you get out of the "Explore" phase. Be curious. Sample different sectors that interest you by reading articles, listening to podcasts, and following leaders in that space. Look at where investment is going and try to simplify different business models down to a level that you can explain to a 5th grader. Notice which sector is capturing most of your interest, time, and energy. Your best bet is to focus on exploring that path first. 2) Focus Phase - Define your direction and find the whitespace to fill. → 💼 Employees: Connecting sustainability to business value will get leaders to listen. Learn more about how your company makes money and what levers they can pull to operate more sustainably. Zoom in to figure out where you can have an impact in your role, team, or department. Create your own opportunities by being curious. Treat your work like a series of mini-experiments. Reach out to your company's sustainability team to let them know about your desire to contribute. This prep will help you move past a surface-level conversation. → 🧭 Job Seekers: You need to put yourself in a box to make it easier for people to help you. If you keep it too broad, you won't build momentum. Narrowing in actually gives you more opportunities than staying open to everything. Climate is a big pond comprised of many sectors, so you want to be as specific as possible. If it makes sense, figure out how you differentiate and "fish where less people are fishing" to stand out (This could be your role + target sector. For example: "My focus is on becoming the go-to communications specialist for a renewable energy company."). Then, show up like you're already working in the space. -- There are 2 more phases that build on this, but didn't fit into this post (Align & Contribute). Reach out if you want to talk about how to make an impact faster. I've done a lot of thinking about this between my work creating pathways for Fortune 1000 employees at The Carbonauts and for climate career pivoters at The Green Beta.

Our #Sustainability Program Coordinator position received ~100 applicants in ~48 hours. This incredible response is a great sign for the sustainability field, and a good moment to offer #advice for those trying to get in. Some of what follows is drawn from recent hiring experience, and some is advice I would give my younger self, if I could. (The picture below is from 2015, just before I made my own pivot into sustainability). 1. Find a focus area. “Sustainability” is an incredibly broad field. Saying you want a job in “sustainability” is like saying you want to work in “business.” Decide what piece of sustainability interests you most. I work in #sustainableagriculture because I like working with farmers; I’m inspired by the impact potential of more sustainable supply chains. On my team, we have people that focus on environmental sustainability which includes emissions, renewable energy, #biodiversity, and packaging. We also have folks working on community engagement, including our non-profit partnerships and employee engagement. And let’s not forget about human rights. Beyond our team, there’s an industry need for people who do sustainability communications and marketing. There are career paths in sustainability advocacy and policy. Sustainability reporting is a rapidly growing field. The list goes on. 2. Network. Once you’ve chosen your focus area, reach out to people who work there. Ask them about their day to day. Reassess: Is this something you actually want to do? If so, ask them for advice. What skills are most important? How did they land their current role? What does the future of this area look like? LinkedIn is critical, use it daily. Follow people in your focus area. Comment on posts. Look for #opendoorclimate. If you can afford it, go to conferences. Introduce yourself to the panelists/ speakers. Ask good questions. ❤️ I landed a screening interview for my current role because someone in my network referred me. 3. Tailor your resume. Read the job description carefully and make sure your resume clearly hits the main points. For example, if you’re applying for a role that lists “data analytics” and “advanced Excel,” make sure your resume contains the words “data analytics” and “Excel.” Bonus points if you can work them into your most recent position. Don’t assume anyone can infer your skills. You may know that your role as “Program Specialist” involves a lot of data analysis, but if you don’t say that explicitly, you may be passed over. 4. Get clear on “why.” At some point in the interview process, someone will ask: “Why are you interested in this position?” Your answer should be compelling. Showcase your passion AND show you did your research. Speak to something specific that matters to the interviewer. Candidates that seem genuinely excited to work with us/our company always standout. 🌱Sustainability professionals: what advice would you give your younger self?

Map Your Path into Sustainability (Interactive Exercise) Not sure how your major or background fits into sustainability? Let’s figure it out together. One of the biggest challenges in sustainability is not a lack of interest. It’s a lack of clarity. I designed a simple exercise to help students and career switchers map their path into sustainability: Step 1: Your Background Ask yourself: What is my major, degree, or current field? Examples: Engineering Business Finance Environmental Science IT / Data Social Sciences Step 2: Match It to Sustainability Roles Now connect your background to possible roles: Engineering =Energy Analyst / Climate Tech Business =ESG Analyst / Sustainability Consultant Finance =Sustainable Finance / ESG Investing Data / IT=ESG Data Analyst / Climate Data Social Sciences =Policy / Community Sustainability Sustainability exists in every field. Step 3: Identify Your Skills What do you already have? Analytical thinking Communication Research Project coordination Problem-solving Step 4: Fill the Gap Now ask: What skill do I need to move into this role? Example: ESG - Learn reporting frameworks Energy - Learn energy systems basics Data - Improve Excel/analytics Step 5: Take One Action This week, choose ONE: Take a short course Start a small project Join a sustainability group Research a company’s ESG strategy Remember, progress starts with one step. #SustainabilityCareers #ESG #CareerDevelopment #Students #ClimateCareers