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5 Reasons You Might Want a Natural Resource Management Degree

Written by CB Community

You might never have heard the term “natural resource management degree” before.

This is a higher education degree with the specialty of resource management.

In other words, it’s a major where your study focuses on environmental sustainability practices.

There hasn’t been a more critical time for environmental conservation. Oceanic threats abound, and melting glaciers threaten species. That is why more individuals are focusing on this degree and what they can do with it.

But what can you do with a natural resource management degree?

We’ll go over five reasons why you might want one:

1. You’re Concerned About the Oceans

We’ll start with one we just mentioned, the oceans and the threats they face.

With a natural resource management degree, you can:

  • Study coastline erosion and take steps to stop it
  • Help to protect threatened oceanic animal species
  • Work to preserve reefs, where marine life proliferates

Many individuals get into this career because they grew up near the sea. The ocean’s appeal is universal: it is a mysterious but compelling part of our blue planet, which is more water than land.

If you love surfing, swimming, or walking on the beach, and you’re dismayed when you see garbage in the water and by the shoreline, that might be the call to action which leads to this degree choice.

2. You’re Worried About Our Rainforests

Another threatened natural resource is the planet’s rainforests. There are millions of insect and animal species that call the rainforests home, and deforestation threatens them.

With a natural resource management degree, you can:

  • Learn what steps to take to preserve our remaining rainforests
  • Work to replant and reclaim damaged areas
  • Help the indigenous people who’ve lost their homes due to deforestation

We cannot duplicate natural rainforest wonder. These are parts of the globe that team with life, and there are likely many species living there that humans still haven’t discovered.

If we don’t fight to preserve these forests, then we’ll never have that chance.

3. You’re Concerned About Climate Change

Climate change, which we once called global warming, is one of the supreme challenges that human beings face.

Because of the careless way that we have acted over the last couple of centuries, we are using up our resources at a dangerous rate.

Still, we can work to curb harmful chemical emissions and try to live in more sustainable ways.

With a natural resource management degree, you can become politically active. You can work on initiatives that will protect our land and water.

Some people who have studied resource management work to pass meaningful legislation, while others go to impoverished parts of the world, where they help the people make the most of what they have.

You could assist with crop planting or irrigation system creation.

4. You Might Fight for the Cause Through Natural Resource Law Enforcement

You could also use your degree to get out on the front lines and combat the individuals who erode our natural resources. Some people with this degree head to Africa and become game wardens.

They work to combat poachers who would harm the dwindling elephant population and other animals.

If you admire animals and you want to keep species from going extinct, there is nothing more critical that you could do. This is a dangerous job, though, and not for the fainthearted.

Still, you will doubtless meet other passionate individuals who feel as strongly about animal rights as you do.

5. You Can Fight Fires

Wildfires, both in the US and abroad, are a huge person and property threat.

Think of the devastating California wildfires that seem to rage more years than not in recent memory. Last year, Los Angeles itself faced that threat, and it seems likely that it will happen again.

The braver individuals with this degree might choose firefighter as a career path. It is physically rigorous and dangerous, but your comrades will stand by your side, and you’ll know that you’re making a difference.

This is also a job with advancement potential if your aptitude for it is apparent. The expected professional growth rate is high as well, so you’d have job security.

With a natural resource management degree, you’ll have many options.

You can be more hands-on, like a firefighter, game warden, or lifeguard, or you might choose to work to pass legislation through grassroots campaigning.

Consider your temperament and what planetary aspect concerns you most. The earth is worth fighting for, and you can choose eco-warrior as your profession.

About the author

CB Community

Passionate members of the College Basics community that include students, essay writers, consultants and beyond. Please note, while community content has passed our editorial guidelines, we do not endorse any product or service contained in these articles which may also include links for which College Basics is compensated.