Your career begins here at the University of Arizona
We strongly encourage students to register early in their academic careers with the University of Arizona's office of Career Services for career counseling, resume and interview skills workshops, leadership workshop series, job fairs, and other services.
Throughout all stages of their academic careers on campus, students are encouraged to gain experience outside the classroom in a variety of settings through involvement with the University of Arizona's Office of Student Engagement.
Along the way, grow your personal and professional skills through Professional Development activities that can help you achieve your very best.
Both current students and alumni can get advice through the Bear Down Network, similar to LinkedIn but exclusive to UA Wildcats, connecting graduates through job listings, meet-ups, casual mentorship, and internships. After graduation, Career Opportunities await!
Where Our Students Work
Our students pursue careers with a variety of companies and consulting firms. Alumni, please don't keep us in suspense! Please inform us if we're missing your employer's name.
- Abednego Environmental Services
- Adrian Brown Consultants, Inc.
- Agroasemex (Mexico)
- Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, and Feld
- Allen Stephenson Associates, Inc. (now Burgess & Niple)
- Alion, Inc.
- Alliance Water Resources
- Allwyn Environmental, Inc.
- Alpha Geoscience
- AMAI Inc.
- AMEC Earth and Environmental
- AMEC Environment and Infrastructure (UK)
- Analytical Technologies
- Applied Remedial Technologies, Inc.
- Arcadis G&M (formerly Geraghty and Miller)
- Aspect Consulting LLC
- Ausenco Vector (Peru)
- Basin & Range Hydrogeologists
- Battelle
- Bechtel
- British Petroleum Company
- Brown and Caldwell
- Burgess & Niple
- Castro Engineering
- CDM (formerly Camp Dresser McKee)
- Chevron
- CH2M Hill, Inc.
- Clear Creek Associates
- Cloud Services at Cisco Iron Port LLC
- Conoco Phillips
- Converse Consultants
- Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc.
- Darcy J. Anderson Consulting, Inc.
- Deltares USA
- Dudek
- Earth Tech
- Engility Coporation
- Entura (Tasmania, Australia)
- Environ, Inc.
- Environmental Resources Management, Inc.
- ERM Inc.
- Errol L. Montgomery and Associates, Inc.
- ETIC Engineering, Inc.
- Fluor EPCM (formerly Fluor Daniel, Inc.)
- Foster Wheeler
- Geologica, Inc.
- Golder Associates, Inc.
- Golder Associates Pty Ltd (Australia)
- GeoSystems Analysis
- Gram Inc.
- Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc.
- Groundwater Resources Consultants, Inc.
- Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
- Hargis+Associates, Inc.
- Harris & Associates, Inc.
- Hart Crowser, Inc.
- HBK Engineering LLC
- HDR Engineering, Inc.
- HSI-GeoTrans, Inc.
- HydroGeoChemi, Inc. (HGC Inc.)
- hydroGEOPHYSICS, Inc. (HGI Inc.)
- HydoGeoSense, Inc.
- HydroLogic LLC
- Hydrometrics, Inc.
- HydroMetrics Water Resources, Inc.
- Iberdola Renewables
- Impact Weather
- IM Systems Group
- Intera
- International Technology Corporation
- International Resources Group (now Engility)
- Iris Environmental Corporation
- Jacobs Engineering
- John Ward, Groundwater Consultant LLC
- Kenneth D. Schmidt and Associates, Inc.
- Kleinfelder
- Laramide Environmental LLC
- Law Gibb Group
- Level 3 Communications
- Matrix NeWorld Engineering
- Matrix Solutions, Inc. (Canada)
- Maxwell Engineering (now associated with Pro17 Engineering)
- Milone and MacBroom, Inc.
- Morrison-Knudson (now affiliated with URS Corporation)
- MWH Global (Montgomery Watson Harza)
- Nalco (an Ecolab Company
- Newport Mining Corporation
- Northwest Hydraulic Consultants
- Norwest Corporation
- Pacific Groundwater Group
- Parsons Engineering and Science
- Phillips 66
- Planning and Management Consultants
- PSOMAS Engineering
- Raytheon UTD
- Rick Engineering Company
- Riverside Technology, Inc.
- Roux Associates, Inc.
- Roy F. Weston, Inc. (Weston Solutions)
- Schlumberger Water Services USA
- Sclumberger Wireline (China)
- SNC-Lavalin (Canada)
- Southwest Ground-water Consultants, Inc.
- SRK Consulting
- Stantec
- Stoller Newport News Nuclear, Inc. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)
- Stone Environmental, Inc.
- Tetra Tech
- Tetra Tech GEO
- Thomas Harder & Co.
- TRC Solutions
- Tucson Bowen Consulting LLC
- URS Corporation
- Veridian Technologies, Inc.
- Waite-Heindel Environmental
- WaterPath
- Weston Solutions (Roy F. Weston, Inc.)
- West Yost Associates
- Wildermuth Environmental, Inc.
- Wilson Water Group
- Wind Logics
- Woodward-Clyde Consultants (now affiliated with URS Corporation)
- WorleyParsons Komex
- WorleyParsons TWP
- WRIME, Inc. (Water Resources & Information Management Engineering, Inc.)
- WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff
Our students pursue careers with a variety of governmental and tribal agencies. Alumni, please don't keep us in suspense! Please inform us if we're missing your employer's name.
- Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (National Lab Consortium)
- Agricultural Research Service (USDA)
- Arizona Army National Guard
- Arizona Attorney General
- Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
- Arizona Department of Water Resources
- Arizona Master Watershed Steward Program
- Belize National Hydrometerological Service
- British Antarctic Survey
- Bureau of Economic Geology (State Geological Survey, Texas)
- Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (Melbourne Area)
- California State Lands Commission (Environmental Planning and Management)
- California State Legislature (Science and Technology Fellow, Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water)
- Central Arizona Project
- City of Riverside, Public Utilities
- City of Tucson, Tucson Water
- Colorado Basin River Forecast Center
- Colorado Division of Water Resources
- Colorado Water Conservation
- Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes
- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (Delaware)
- Desert Research Institute (Nevada)
- Government of the District of Columbia, Department of the Environment, Water Quality Division (Washington, DC)
- Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (University College Cork, Ireland)
- Idaho Department of Water Resources
- International Pacific Research Center (Hawaii)
- Interstate Stream Commission (New Mexico)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities
- Metropolitan Domestic Water Improvement District
- Mexico Institute of Water Technology
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- NASA Kennedy Space Center
- NASA Langley Research Center
- National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
- National Forest Service (e.g. Coronado National Forest, Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, Pacific Northwest Region)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Office of Hydrologic Development)
- National Water Commission of Mexico, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
- National Weather Service (everywhere)
- Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency
- New Mexico Environment Department, Surface Water Quality Bureau
- New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission
- Norwegian Institute for Air Research
- Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
- Orange County Water District (California)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Panama, Water Resources Department, Water Security Directorate
- Peace Corps
- Pima County Association of Governments
- Pima County Department of Environmental Quality
- Pima County Regional Flood Control District
- Sandia National Laboratory
- San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
- South Florida Water Management District
- Southwest Research Institute
- Tohono O'odham Nation
- Tucson Water
- U.S. Air Force Weather Agency
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Army White Sands (New Mexico)
- U.S. Department of Air Force
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Geological Survey
- U.S. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
- Washington Department of Ecology
- Water Resources Research Center (University of Arizona)
- West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (NOOA)
- White Mountain Apache Tribe
- Yavapai County Flood Control District
Our students pursue careers with a variety of NGOs*, NPOs, and volunteer organizations. Alumni, please don't keep us in suspense! Please inform us if we're missing your employer's name.
*Non-profit or not-for-profit organizations are known as NPOs. Non-governmental organizations are typically non-profit and known as NGOs. NGOs may be community-, city-, or regionally-based or national or international in scope.
- Amigos de las Americas
- Carpe Diem West
- EcoTrust
- Everglades Foundation
- Glenn-Gibson Creeks Watershed Council (Part of the Oregon Watershed Councils Network)
- Hydrologic Research Center
- Intermon Oxfam
- Middle East Institute, Washington, DC
- Near East Foundation
- Solar Electric Light Fund
- The Nature Conservancy
- Utah Rivers Council
- Water for People
- Watershed Management Group
- World Bank International Fund for Agricultural Development (Mexico)
Our students have obtained academic and postdoctoral research appointments throughout the U.S. and abroad with a wide range of universities and institutions. Alumni, please don't keep us in suspense! Please inform us if we're missing your employer's name.
- Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Research (National Lab Consortium)
- Arizona State University
- Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Israel)
- Boise State University
- British Antarctic Survey
- Bryn Mawr College
- California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
- California State University, Fullerton
- China University of Petroleum (Beijing, China)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing, China)
- City University of New York (CUNY)
- Clark University
- Clemson University
- College of Western Idaho
- Colorado School of Mines
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization - CSIRO (Australia)
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES)
- Delta State University (Nigeria)
- Desert Research Institute (Nevada)
- Duke University
- Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL/NOAA)
- European Union Madame Curie Postdoctoral Fellows (multiple fellowships)
- Fatih University (Turkey)
- Fort Lewis College (Colorado)
- George Mason University
- Hampton University (Virginia)
- Hydraulics and Maritime Research Centre (University College Cork, Ireland)
- Hydrologic Research Center (California)
- Imperial College London (Research Associate)
- Instituto de Hidrologia de Llanuras (Argentina)
- International Pacific Research Center (Hawaii)
- Istanbul Technical University (Turkey)
- King Abdulaziz University (Saudi Arabia)
- Kocaeli University (Turkey)
- Lander University (South Carolina)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Louisiana State University
- Maricopa County Community Colleges
- Metropolitan State College of Denver
- Michigan State University
- Middle East Institute, Washington, DC
- Nanjing University of Information Science (China)
- National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- National Water and Climate Center
- National Weather Service
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- National Polytechnical School (Ecuador)
- New Mexico State University
- New Mexico Tech
- NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory
- Northern Arizona University
- Norwegian Institute for Air Research
- Notre Dame (see University of)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment (Penn State University)
- Pima Community College
- Princeton University
- Purdue University
- Queens College, CUNY
- Sandia National Laboratory
- Southwest Research Institute
- Technion Israel Institute of Technology
- UNESCO Postdoctoral Fellows
- Universidad Autonoma Chapingo (Mexico)
- Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (Mexico)
- Universidad Complutense Madrid (Spain)
- Universidad de Puerto Rico
- Universidade da Coruna (Spain)
- Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain)
- Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya Barcelona (Spain)
- University of Alaska-Fairbanks
- University of Antioquia (Colombia)
- University of Arizona
- University of Botswana
- University of Bristol (UK)
- University of California-Davis
- University of California-Los Angeles
- University of California-Merced
- University of California-Riverside
- University of California-San Diego
- University of Connecticut
- University of Georgia
- University of Hawaii-Hilo
- University of Hawaii-Manoa
- University of Idaho
- University of Indiana-Purdue University Indianapolis
- University of Iowa
- University of Melbourne (Australia)
- University of Mississippi
- University of Montana at Montana Tech
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- University of Nebraska-Omaha
- University of Nevada-Reno
- University of New South Wales, Water Research Centre
- University of North Carolina-Charlotte
- University of North Carolina-Wilmington
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Oklahoma
- University of Rhode Island
- University of Sonora (Mexico)
- University of South Carolina
- University of Texas-Austin
- University of Vienna (Austria)
- University of Virginia
- University of Waterloo (Canada)
- University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
- Utah State University
- Water Resources Research Center (University of Arizona)
- West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (NOOA)
- Wright State University
- Yale Climate and Energy Institute (Yale University)
Atmospheric Sciences
The career outlook for atmospheric sciences is excellent, due largely to the expanding workforce dealing with the environment, energy, and climate. Our students pursue careers within the private sector, state government, federal government, and national research laboratories. As consultants and scientists, they are employed by:
- Renewable energy industry, private weather forecasting companies, and the aviation industry
- State government, e.g. Departments of Transportation, Environment
- Federal government, e.g. NASA, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of the Air Force
- National research laboratories and institutes, e.g. Desert Research Institute, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
- Academia
Hydrology and Water Resources
The career outlook for hydrologists and water resources specialists is excellent, spurred largely by increasing demands placed on the environment and water resources by population growth. Read about the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational outlook here.
Environmental consulting
- Forensic isotope hydrology
- Risk assessment and characterization
Remediation consulting
- Clean up of TCE and other toxic wastes
- Underground storage tank leaks
Environmental regulatory, permitting, and compliance for
- Bureau of Reclamation (federal)
- Departments of Environmental Quality (state, tribal, federal)
- U.S. Geological Survey (federal)
- Water Active Management Districts (city, county, state)
Water resource evaluation
- Urban planning
- Industrial and municipal water use and supply
Water resource design and protection
- Wetlands, riparian, and habitat restoration
- National Park Service water use planning, erosion control, post-fire restoration
- Peace Corps water development
Flood forecasting, control, and management
- City, county, and state flood planning management
- Army Corps of Engineers (federal)
- National Weather Service (federal)
Computer simulation of water and pollutant transport
- Fate and transport of TCE, formaldehyde, and other contaminants
- Transport of heavy metal contaminants using coupled models (speciation, reaction, etc.)
- Environmental Protection Agency (state, tribal, federal)
Additional or advanced study
- Advanced research in national laboratories or research institutes
- Teaching at the community college- and university levels
- Scientists and advocates in public health and sanitation
- Environmental law and expert witness
As consultants and scientists, they are employed by:
- Science and engineering companies who contract their services to individuals, private companies, municipalities, and other government agencies (see Where Our Students Work, above)
- Agricultural and industrial companies--steel, gas, oil, coal--who use water resources, or whose industry impacts water resources, to comply with best management practices, as well as environmental quality and other environmental regulations (see Where Our Students Work, above)
- City, county, state, tribal, and federal government agencies in the U.S. and abroad, e.g. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, National Weather Service, U.S. Geological Survey
- Non-governmental environmental organizations (NGOs) and environmental non-profit and volunteer organizations (NPOs), e.g. OXFAM, The Nature Conservancy, Water for People, World Bank
With graduate or advanced education, our students pursue careers as:
- Self-employed individual contractors or as principals in their own start-up firms (see Where Our Students Work, above)
- Academia: Professors teaching at the community college- or university-levels (see Where Our Students Work, above)
- Research scientists performing high-level research in national laboratories in the U.S. or abroad
- Environmental lawyers and public health managers