Imagine you are sitting at your bench carefully preparing samples as all around you scientists bustle back and forth with racks of test tubes and stacks of agar plates. You are a microbiologist and your lab is operating in high gear. Two days ago, a tanker truck hauling liquid waste from a nearby hog operation overturned on Reservoir Bridge, spilling its contents into your city's drinking water. As part of a team of microbiologists specializing in environmental emergency response, you were immediately called in to analyze the extent of contamination and the threat this spill poses to public health.
As a microbiologist with a specialty in environmental pathogens, you know how critical it is to quickly and accurately identify what has been spilled into the water supply. The reservoir's water is treated before being distributed to city residents, but without knowing what is in the water, there is no way of knowing if it is being removed at the treatment plant. You have spent the last two days analyzing samples from the reservoir and tanker, preparing dozens of cultures, and using DNA-based molecular techniques to identify potential pathogens.
Once you have established the presence and extent of contamination, you and your team can begin to develop ways to remove it, for example adding additional filters to the treatment plant, disinfecting the water with UV rays, or possibly adding other micro-organisms to the water supply that kill pathogens without posing a threat to the health of humans or the reservoir's aquatic communities. With your team's hard work and expertise, the city's water supply will be clean and back to normal in only a few more days.
Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as a microbiologist:
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.
Chantal Bouchard's current mission in life sounds too good to be true-she is working to develop a new herbicide that is biodegradable, environmentally friendly and created from recycled waste. If that is not enough, it has to be affordable for farmers and profitable for her employer. That such a herbicide might be possible says something about the vital role of science in the service of the environment.
What led Chantal into a career in microbiology? She credits her love of sciences, biology and math as a teenager. Summer science camps in Quebec fired her interest even more and led to undergraduate studies in biology (with a major in ecology) and a master's degree in plant physiology. Among the skills she considers important in her work, she rates interpersonal skills very high. "In dealing with farmers, you have to be prepared to make requests in the most diplomatic way possible.
To test new products, we sometimes have to make some strange requests." Chantal's formula for success is simple-"patience, patience, patience. And imagination and perseverance in developing new techniques and procedures." Plus, "You must love what you are doing."
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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