Chris is on the ball. Although an environmental scientist and and ecologist overlap in their education, and can and often do similar things, they are not equivalents. An environmental scientist will be steeped in ecology, but also policy and economics. This person will be trained to address things that relate to management, regulation, mitigation,risk assessment and impacts. An ecologist might do some of these things, but its really tangent to their training. Likewise, you may find an environmental scientist who performs research in behavioural ecology or community ecology, but again this is not typical of an environmental scientist. part of the reason for the confusion is that many schools umbrella one or the other areas under a degree title. There are many ecologists who get their education in an environmental science program. Likewise, there are many professional environmental scientists who got their education in an ecology program.
On Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 12:12 PM, Chris Swan <cms...@umbc.edu> wrote: > I just finished perusing this site. I would like to highlight a few things: > > 1) The definition of "ecologist": I think some on the list would find this > to be relatively narrow. More importantly, many environmental science degree > programs do not train students at all to become ecologists. > > "Ecologists study the planet and the effect humans are having on > environmental damage. They study organisms that are impacting the > environmental change of the Earth. Most ecologists are employed by federal > and state governments and may also be employed by major research facilities. > Many ecologists work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This area is > experiencing only subtle growth in the coming decade, at only 9%." > > 2) On the page for "Average Salary in Environmental Science", there is a > section beginning "While environmental science is not commonly offered > through online programs, below are some of the best colleges with that degree > available. Request more information by clicking on the links." > > What makes these some of the "best colleges"? > > > I will acknowledge some of the information in this resource is referenced > (e.g., Bureau of the Labor Statistics), most of the information here is not. > > I would caution that before passing this on to any student, especially at the > undergraduate level, as a resource one should vet it properly, as we would > any other website. > > -- > Christopher M. Swan, Ph.D. > Associate Professor > Dept. of Geography & Environmental Systems > University of Maryland, Baltimore County > 211 Sondheim Hall > 1000 Hilltop Circle > Baltimore, MD 21250 > chris.s...@umbc.edu > http://www.umbc.edu/people/cmswan > (410) 455-3957 > > > > > > > > > > On Feb 22, 2012, at 12:22 PM, David Inouye wrote: > >> From: Elena Frost <el...@environmentalsciencedegree.com> >> >> I designed an online resource guide for students called >> http://www.environmentalsciencedegree.com. >> >> I know from personal experience that searching for the right >> Environmental Science degree program can be a time-consuming task. That is >> why I >> designed http://www.environmentalsciencedegree.com to help prospective >> students find information about Environmental Science degree programs across >> the country just by visiting one site. >> >> Would you help connect prospective students with my site by adding it >> to your resources page? I appreciate your time and any effort to add my link >> to your page. >> >> >> Best Regards, >> Elena Frost -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry School of Biological Sciences University of Missouri at Kansas City Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
