So, you're looking for an environmental job. A lot of young (under 40) ecologists and other environmental scientists are pretty displeased with their standing right now. In many agencies and organizations, the average employee is a 45-55 year old man. Studies predict that by 2020, the average environmental scientist will be 30-35 and male (though by a shrinking margin). Doesn't sound like much, but it's a massive shift, and it's one that agencies, universities, and companies expected to occur a decade ago.
As an entire generation reluctantly retires, experienced scientists (say, age 27 to 45) across the field are doing the work of several employees, and have not been given the opportunities for advancement that their parents were (Director at 36? Gee, that sounds swell!). Because those scientists are still on "staff" and not middle or upper management, the lack of entry level vacancies has been absolutely astounding. In a field that desperately needs new blood, there's little to be found. So far.
When you read those job ads and they list their benefits, they sure sound great, don't they? Well, if you're new to the field, here's what some of those really mean. If nothing else, you owe it to yourself to ask questions.
Flexible Work Hours. Go into any restaurant, especially a fast food restaurant. They will undoubtedly have a hiring poster on the wall, and on that poster will say, "Flexible Schedule!" It does not take a rocket scientist (or even an ecologist) to realize that the "flexible" part does not, and was never intended to, benefit the employees of that restaurant. "Flexible" means they might not put you on the schedule for 10 days. And then the following week, schedule you for 60 hours. "Flexible" means working an extra shift, with no notice. "Flexible" does not mean you can call out of work because your baby is sick. None for you!
In the professional world, it's not nearly as bad. But you should ask yourself (and your potential employer), "What is flexible?" Nearly 70% of all companies now have "flex time," a percentage that is increasingly weekly, but in your first week there, you may notice that everyone still gets to the office around 8:00am, because that was the policy for 30 years, up until 2010, when flex time was introduced. Despite "flex time," other employees may ask each other (or your supervisor) why you come in late every day (despite the fact that you also stay late), or why you "get to" leave early every day (despite the fact that you also arrive at the office early). And despite flex time, if your boss wants something from you at 9:05am, and your hours are 9:15-5:45; or she wants something from you at 5:05pm, and your hours are 7:30am - 4:00pm, you are sure going to hear about it.
Tip: ask how many of the employees take advantage of the flex time policy. Ask when the office is "mostly full" on monday mornings and "mostly empty" on friday afternoons. That should give you an idea of what the expected hours might truly be. Flexible work hours can be a huge benefit to you - and data shows that worker productivity and retention are improved as a result.
Professional Development. Depending on the workplace and the nature of the professional development policy itself, well-funded professional development can be a boon or a depressor to employees. Have an idea of courses you actually want to take, either for your own enrichment or for your career (I differentiate between the two). Before you accept a job offer, be sure to very, very briefly discuss your list of potential courses you'd like to take.........if they are somewhat applicable to the job. Most workplaces will now offer professional development, but that could mean anything from trust-building exercises to very serious courses (with exams) that are held 2,000 miles away from home. You may or may not want either one of those extremes.
Tip: Just give it some thought - what do YOU want?
Telecommuting. Yes, 2/3 of American companies already allow exempt, professional-level employees to telecommute. Yes, by 2020, that fraction is likely to be closer to 9/10 by 2020. That means less traffic and more laptops. But we need to back up a second. Remember that your new supervisor is likely to be between age 40 and 65. He or she was probably never, ever given an opportunity to telecommute. He or she was taught how to manage employees that are sitting in an office (or at least physically reporting to the office once a day), not how to manage a bunch of "minds" that may be scattered across the eastern seaboard and logging onto their laptops at 8:00am to start the workday.
That, my friends, means trouble. It means that in many workplaces, this "benefit" (that you may have formally negotiated) will be trotted out as a "privilege" at inopportune times. Your boss (like two former managers I knew (ironic - both eventually lost their jobs)) may very well be suspicious of your activities on telecommuting days. If other coworkers do not have this benefit, they will likely talk about it as well. Is it a battle worth fighting?
Tip: Yes, it's worth fighting for. At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy-duddy, give your supervisor something to chew on, on days that you telecommute. E-mail them early and often, and be sure to be at your laptop and ready to answer e-mails throughout the day. Make sure to accomplish some significant body of work during the day, so you have something to bring back to the office with you. Some folks would rather not fight it, and just give this benefit up, rather than have to defend themselves constantly. Be prepared to make that decision. Again, the majority of American companies now allow professional-level employees to work from home at least occasionally (monthly or weekly). The nation's managers are still trying to figure out how to best manage it (and us).
Paid Vacation. All professionals get vacation! Well, yes. Almost all of us accrue vacation. My current workplace (5 employees) encourages us to spend it periodically, so we don't end up taking a paid month off and crippling the office's operations. That's a good thing. Yet, in many workplaces, scientists simply never take their vacation time. Sometimes it's a personal choice - we tend to love our work. And in some cases, vacation requests may be denied.
But in the majority of cases, we simply don't take vacation because recovering (at work) from "being off" for more than about two days can take weeks (it's referred to as "digging out."). Also note that if your particular type of work is seasonally dependent, your ability to take paid vacation (until you become a manager) will be limited to periods outside the "busy season." No matter what, you do not want to be in a workplace that hinders its employees from taking reasonable time off (i.e. at least the paid annual leave or vacation pay that you accrue).
Tip: Ask your interviewer, or any of the employees your interviewer allows you to meet, what percentage of their accrued vacation they get to take per year. Please do not ask them how many days they earned and how many days they used. People are sensitive about that! Your goal is to find out that "average employees earn 3 weeks but only use 1.5" or "they earn 2 weeks and only use 2 days." That is precious and powerful information!
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