Career Advice from Indiana University's Themester

Students are back on US campuses, some more interested in a Club Med-like experience and a 'what can I get away with' attitude towards their coursework, while fortunately, some others are coming back to campus with a strengthened motivation to get career advice and to dedicate time and effort to best position themselves to compete for green energy and sustainability jobs. The competition will be fierce this year again, and to become as competitive on the job market as they can be, students and recent alumni have not only to demonstrate knowledge and relevant skills, but also a resilient optimistic attitude, as well as take a first job that is 'good enough' instead of 'perfect'.

A number of universities big and small have taken upon themselves to increase the visibility of courses, extra-curricular activities, and employment opportunities related to green jobs and sustainability. For example, at Indiana University (IU), Bill Brown was hired as the first IU Sustainability Director in February 2009. During his first year at IU, Mr. Brown was bombarded with questions from students, asking him for career advice on how to best prepare for the green economy post-graduation. In his first year at IU, Mr. Brown also learned more about amazing green initiatives that were taking place throughout IU's 8 campuses. He then realized that lots of these green initiatives, courses, and extra-curricular offerings were not reaching their full impact due to lack of communication between different university departments and between the university and its 108,000 students.

To remedy this lack of coordination and to enable students, staff and faculty to learn more about IU's sustainability offerings, Mr. Brown and his team took advantage of the IU Bloomington Themester Program. The IU Bloomington Themester Program is a rotational program that focuses on different themes for semester-long programming. During the Fall of 2010, the IU Bloomington Themester will focus on curricular, extra-curricular and experiential learning offerings around sustainability. The new Themester website revealed that over 240 courses related to sustainability are offered through IU's various departments. This fall, IU students can choose among courses such as 'Global Sourcing', 'Coffee Culture, Production, and Markets', 'The City as Ecosystem', 'Living the sustainable life', 'LEED Certification','Sustainable Development Systems', 'The Politics of Sustainability', and 'Corporate Social Strategy'. Of course, these courses are filled with valuable career advice and career management strategies that can help students explore careers in a vast array of industries such as renewable energy, waste management, public policy, and corporate social responsibility.

Furthermore, IU will be offering an array of extra-curricular events such as Theatrical Performances and Films, Galleries and Exhibits, and Speakers and Panels. Films include 'An Inconvenient Truth', 'The End of Suburbia', 'The 11th Hour', and 'Food Inc'. Some of these movies are sure to foster lively and evidence-based debates, which are the essence of a good college education!

Finally, the IU Sustainability Office has also taken a number of initiatives for IU campuses to become more sustainable. With 100 interns hired every year during the academic semester as well as during the summer, numerous student-managed initiatives have been designed and implemented across IU's campuses. These projects included 'Greening of the Athletic Department', 'Alternative Transportation Planning', and 'E-Waste Solutions'.

Overall, an essential piece of career advice for our justmeans readers that are currently students is to go beyond what they can readily see, and dig deeper to find the courses, extra-curricular activities and possible employment opportunities that can help them learn about sustainability careers while on campus. Whether you are on a small or a large campus, there are a number of ways you can learn about sustainability and gather career advice that will help you transition from campus to career in any economy. So go ahead, don't wait to graduate to learn about careers in sustainability, get started on your own campus!

Photo Credit.