Job opportunities for environmental scientists grew significantly between 1996 and 2006. Though vacancies have become harder to find in the short term because of the 2008/2009 economic recession, job numbers are expected to grow again in the longer term.

Increase in number of environmental scientists

The number of environmental scientists more than tripled between 1996 and 2006, from 396 to 1,536. This growth was mainly due to:

• increased government and industry funding for environment-related research
• a growing number of environmental issues (eg river pollution caused mainly by increasing farm run-offs from the growing dairy industry).

Shortage of environmental scientists

This growth in demand has created a shortage of skilled environmental scientists. The job of environmental scientist is on Immigration New Zealand's long-term skill shortage list, which means the Government is actively encouraging skilled environmental scientists from overseas to work in New Zealand.

Fewer opportunities for environmental scientists working on resource consents

Work for environmental scientists who do impact assessments for resource consents has fallen slightly due to the 2008/2009 economic recession, as some property and industrial developers have put their projects on hold. So some large private environmental consulting companies have laid off staff.

However, opportunities are expected to pick up again when the financial situation improves, and projects are restarted.

More vacancies through setting up of Environmental Protection Agency

Opportunities in the longer term are also expected to pick up because of the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA was set up by the Government in October 2009, and is designed to fast-track resource consent applications. This should generate some jobs for environmental scientists.

Environmental scientists who do academic research mainly work for:

• Crown research institutes (CRIs) such as LandCare Research or National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
• universities.

They may also do environmental policy work at government agencies and ministries.

Environmental scientists do more hands-on work at:

• local authorities – regional, city and district councils
• Crown entities – for example, Maritime NZ, which monitors marine oil spill responses and approves marine dumping permits
• private consultancies (including working for yourself), such as those doing environmental assessments for resource consents
• private companies –  for example, fertiliser, insecticide and pesticide-manufacturing companies, where environmental scientists check toxicity levels.

Most environmental scientists work in urban areas, where CRIs, government departments, universities, city councils and industries are based.

Those who work for private consultancies may work in rural areas.