Environmental Career Opportunities (Ecojobs) Job Board

Alexis Trench
Alexis Trench

Wellesley Career Education has an Institutional Subscription to EcoJobs, allowing students and staff to access subscriber-only job listings. 

Learn About Careers in Life Sciences

Wellesley Career Education logo
Wellesley Career Education

A career in the life sciences can include a broad range of companies, organizations, and foundations concerned with the study of living organisms, including biological sciences, botany, zoology, microbiology, physiology, biochemistry, and a number of related subjects. Employers may include biotechnology & pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, healthcare organizations, foundations, and federal agencies. Most of the information on this page concerns non-patient facing options but there are opportunities to create career paths that merge patient and non-patient settings.

“I previously had dreams to be an author, but found myself called by the combination of logic, mystery, and truth in science.”

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to build community with other like minded people across the country who are dedicated to working on the same kinds of issues that I am.”

“I was motivated to fight for environmental justice in my community after hearing about the respiratory illnesses that many children were diagnosed with as a result of the environmental contamination we live with.”

Science Research

Alexis Trench
Alexis Trench

Participating in research experiences as an undergraduate is an excellent way to add depth to your science understanding and actively engage with what you are learning in the classroom. By doing so, you further develop your laboratory, analytical, and problem-solving skills, and you start to build your network with faculty members. Research experiences are valuable components to your resume, and they can make you more competitive for both graduate school and industry opportunities.

Mathematics

Alexis Trench
Alexis Trench

Mathematics is essentially the study of patterns, and the understanding and application of these patterns is essential for the foundation of all other sciences. While mathematics is often studied in its own right, it is also applied to all manner of real world problems found in business, government, laboratories, medicine, engineering, and more.

Environmental Studies

Alexis Trench
Alexis Trench

There are many career options for environmental studies majors/minors. Career paths will differ depending on whether one wants to focus on law and policy making, on teaching and communication, on more advanced research, or another intersection of environmental studies and another discipline.

Udall Scholarship (sophomores & juniors)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Supports a year of undergraduate study for American Indians and Alaska Natives working on an array of policy issues in Indian country or interested in pursuing health-related careers, or for students with demonstrated leadership, service, and commitment to issues related to conservation and environmental issues. Eligible are college sophomores and juniors who are US citizens, nationals, and permanent residents. Campus application deadline typically in early February.

National Institutes of Standards & Technology Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (NIST SURF) (students)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) at NIST laboratories in Gaithersburg, MD; Boulder, CO; and Waimanalo, Hawaii. The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship is designed to inspire undergraduate students to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) through a unique research experience that supports the NIST mission.  Eligible are currently enrolled undergraduates who are US citizens or permanent residents, majoring in chemistry, computer science, physics, engineering, materials science, fire research, nanotechnology, information technology, mathematics, biology, manufacturing, statistics, or another STEM discipline.

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship (sophomores and juniors)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Supports one or two years of undergraduate study in the fields of mathematics, engineering, and natural sciences. Eligible are college sophomores or juniors who are US citizens, permanent residents, and nationals intending to pursue research careers in STEM fields. Campus application deadline typically in late November/early December.

Churchill Scholarships (seniors & graduates)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Supports one year of graduate study (including one-year research degrees) in science, mathematics, or engineering at Cambridge. Eligible: graduating seniors and recent graduates of Wellesley College who are US citizens with majors in appropriate STEM fields. Campus application deadline typically in early October.

“She said, ‘If you could do anything in the world, what would you be?’ I immediately said, ‘A nurse, but it’s too late.’ She said, ‘No it’s not.”