Environmental Scientists

Employers

About 85,000 environmental scientists and specialists are employed in the United States. Approximately 42 percent work for state and local governments, and about 24 percent work for management, scientific, and technical consulting firms. Others work for the federal government (mainly for the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of the Interior); for private companies that provide architectural, engineering, and related services; or as teachers and instructors at colleges and universities. Some environmental scientists run their own businesses and are self-employed, although this number is small (1 percent).