Example Career: Climate Change Analysts

Career Description

Research and analyze policy developments related to climate change. Make climate-related recommendations for actions such as legislation, awareness campaigns, or fundraising approaches.

What Job Titles Climate Change Analysts Might Have

• Senior Associate
• Climate and Energy Program
• Senior Climate Advisor
• Senior Policy Associate
• Staff Climate Scientist

What Climate Change Analysts Do

• Provide analytical support for policy briefs related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, or climate change.
• Analyze and distill climate-related research findings to inform legislators, regulatory agencies, or other stakeholders.
• Prepare study reports, memoranda, briefs, testimonies, or other written materials to inform government or environmental groups on environmental issues such as climate change.
• Make legislative recommendations related to climate change or environmental management, based on climate change policies, principles, programs, practices, and processes.
• Promote initiatives to mitigate climate change with government or environmental groups.
• Research policies, practices, or procedures for climate or environmental management.
• Review existing policies or legislation to identify environmental impacts.
• Write reports or academic papers to communicate findings of climate-related studies.
• Present climate-related information at public interest, governmental, or other meetings.
• Gather and review climate-related studies from government agencies, research laboratories, and other organizations.
• Prepare grant applications to obtain funding for programs related to climate change, environmental management, or sustainability.
• Propose new or modified policies involving use of traditional and alternative fuels, transportation of goods, and other factors relating to climate and climate change.
• Develop, or contribute to the development of, educational or outreach programs on the environment or climate change.

What Climate Change Analysts Should Be Good At

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Climate Change Analysts Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

What Climate Change Analysts Need to Learn

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.