Imagine you are hard at work in a busy laboratory, carefully recording readings from the equipment in front of you and jotting down your observations. You are an emerging energy researcher and your lab is part of the research and development division of a large oil and gas company. This company is investing millions of dollars in energy research as part of its long-term business plan because it knows that the environmental and economic costs of fossil fuels will rise and inevitably the world will run out of non-renewable resource reserves. It has built dozens of labs like yours to investigate viable alternative energy sources.
As an emerging energy researcher, you are always on the cutting edge when it comes to new fuel sources or new ways to generate electricity. Your current project, for example, is investigating the viability of processing agricultural by-products to produce energy. You have been interested in this possibility for years, ever since you learned Canada produces more than four billion tonnes of agricultural animal waste products each year.
You and your team of researchers started theorizing how you could use the leftover turkey and chicken carcasses from processing plants as a fuel source. You designed and built a mini-reactor that mimics nature’s own biochemical process that converts organic material into fossil fuels under conditions of extreme heat and pressure over millions of years. Your reactor controls these conditions and reduces the conversion scale from millions of years to only a few hours. It’s a two-step thermal process that results in usable fuel.
In addition, the thermal process you designed is itself 85% energy efficient, generating its own energy and using the steam naturally created by the process to heat incoming material. With more testing and feasibility studies, your mini-reactor could become a viable and environmentally friendly way of using recycled waste to produce fuel.
Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as an emerging energy researcher:
If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, you should have a keen interest in:
If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, the following programs are most applicable.
In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental geophysicist is a graduate degree. Pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in fields related to environmental geophysics can enhance your expertise, career prospects, and ability to contribute to the field. These advanced degrees offer specialized knowledge and skills highly valued in both the professional and academic worlds.
In many provinces, geophysicists must obtain registration and licensure with their provincial association as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). The certification process for geophysicists is similar to that of engineering professions and is typically overseen by the same regulatory body.
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
As key executive leaders who shape their company’s sustainability policy, CSOs work in many different types of organizations. Common employers of CSOs include:
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Board.
If you are a post-secondary student seeking a CSO role in the future, consider pursuing a university degree related to:
In addition to the educational fields mentioned above, you will also need extensive management experience to become a CSO, with well-developed human resources management and leadership skills. Consider educational seminars or post-graduate studies that will hone your analytical thinking, such as:
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers seek professionals who combine technical knowledge with personal and professional skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
"A lot of people take for granted that they have clean air, clean water, and an endless supply of energy. It was the misconception that there was this endless supply of these natural resources that interested me most,” recalls Devron Kobluk. This interest, coupled with 20 years of living on a farm, convinced Devron to pursue a degree in environmental studies.
Now, armed with an undergraduate degree in environmental studies, Devron is almost finished his master’s degree in rural development and is working full-time with an alternative energy company in Manitoba. As an emerging energy researcher, Devron spends much of his time at his desk researching alternative energy policy and legislation and "seeing how alternative energy is developed in different places.” He also searches out different sources for biomass energy (energy produced from organic matter), including solid waste, forestry waste, or agricultural waste. "We’re looking for an organic source that can produce hundreds of tonnes of continuous waste a year to be considered a viable energy source.”
On the business side, Devron is instrumental in developing business plans and helps in the economic planning for the burgeoning alternative energy company. He enjoys the combination of job responsibilities and is well equipped for them. "I have the background in the environment that I need to do the research, plus I have the skills from my master’s to complete the business and economic planning.”
Despite his training, Devron says the amount of information about the industry can sometimes be overwhelming. "The [quantity] of information is directly related to how fast this industry is developing.” He relies on his combined business and environmental skills to sift through the vast quantity of information that comes across his desk. And he doesn’t see the level of information or interest in his industry decreasing any time soon: "With the price of oil at an all-time high, people are looking for cheaper forms of energy.”
Marine geologists are classified into the following occupational grouping:
NOC Code: 21102 – Geoscientists and oceanographers
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.
See ECO’s Blue National Occupational Standard for a career competency profile for a marine geologist that outlines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for individuals to perform effectively in this particular role. This profile is a benchmark for training and development, ensuring consistency and quality across professions within the blue economy.
Dans un esprit de respect, de réciprocité et de vérité, nous honorons et reconnaissons Moh’kinsstis, le territoire traditionnel du Traité 7 et les pratiques orales de la confédération des Pieds-Noirs : Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, ainsi que les nations Îyâxe Nakoda et Tsuut’ina. Nous reconnaissons que ce territoire abrite la Nation métisse de l’Alberta, la région 3 au sein de la patrie historique des Métis du Nord-Ouest. Enfin, nous reconnaissons toutes les nations qui vivent, travaillent et se divertissent sur ce territoire, et qui l’honorent et le célèbrent.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we acknowledge that we live, work, and gather on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, including the Blackfoot Confederacy—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations—as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations.
This land, known as Moh’kinsstis in the Blackfoot language and encompassing what is now Districts 5 and 6, is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
We recognize and honour the deep connection these Nations have to the land, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in its stewardship.
As we continue our work, we commit to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, uplifting Indigenous voices, and fostering relationships rooted in equity, understanding, and reconciliation.
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