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Environmental Economists


Overview

Environmental Economists

Introduction

In general, economists focus on society's past and current use of resources such as land, labor, raw materials, and machinery to produce goods and services for consumption and production. Environmental economists are concerned with how the use of these resources affects the environment and the economic costs that are involved. They study government policies regarding natural resources and analyze the costs and benefits of alternative environmental practices. There are approximately 21,000 economists, including environmental economis...

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$104,340

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Employment Prospects

Good

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Minimum Education Level

Bachelor's Degree


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Experience

Three or more years experience
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Skills

Financial
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Personality Traits

Enterprising
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Earnings

Environmental economists earned average base salaries that ranged from $61,356 to $140,702 or more in December 2017, according to Glassdoor.com. The U.S. Department of Labor does not provide information on environmental economists, but reports that in May 2018, the median salary for all economists was $104,340. Salaries ranged from $58,130 or less to $182,560 or more. Those who worked for state...

Work Environment

Environmental economists usually work in offices. The workweek is typically 40 hours, with occasional overtime in the evenings and weekends when project deadlines must be met. Economists work independently and collaborate with other economists, statisticians, and environmental specialists. They spend much of their workday on computers, gathering and analyzing data, conducting research, and writ...

Outlook

Employment opportunities for economists are expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2028, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Private industry, such as management, scientific, and technical consulting services, will offer the most job prospects for environmental economists. Growth in this area is due to the increasingly global economy, which requires ad...