Climate and Careers

Through Pathways to Resilience, App State is preparing Mountaineers for the evolving job market and to contribute to a resilient economy.

“Climate change is reshaping the employment landscape” (USA Today). That’s both because the consequences of warming are affecting employers and people’s work and because there’s a need for every profession to participate in implementing climate solutions. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change puts it, “Rapid and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” Transforming all sectors and systems requires every profession to participate.

In other words, “Every job is a climate job!” And, climate literacy will help you get a job.

Employers are increasingly seeking candidates with climate related knowledge and skills. According to the World Economic Forum, hiring for green jobs outpaced the overall hiring rate globally four years in a row. And LinkedIn’s 2025 Green Skills Report documents that “green talent is far more likely to secure a job, getting hired at a global rate 46.6% above the economy-wide hiring rate.”

Resources for thinking about climate and careers:

So You Want to Work in Climate, a crowdsourced collection of 750+ resources for people who want to work in climate
Work on Climate, a global community of professionals seeking to use their talent to solve climate change and build a regenerative economy
OpenDoorClimate, a global community of thousands of climate professionals offering one-on-one chats to help climate job seekers grow their network and learn about climate work
ClimateSolutions-Careers.org, for students who want to find a career contributing to positive climate action and for anyone who wants to shift careers or figure out how to use their existing career to address climate change
Every Job Is a Climate Job: Why Corporate Transformation Needs Climate Literacy, a report by Kite Insights
U.S. Climate Jobs Fact Sheet, a report by the Environmental and Energy Institute
Making Sustainability Part of Everybody’s Job, a LinkedIn Learning course by sustainability leader Drew Wilkinson (free to App State students; activate your LinkedIn Learning account to access it)

Resources for finding climate related jobs:

App State’s Career Development Center is in the process of developing more resources on climate careers–for now, visit the Science and Sustainability section of their Career Hub!