Why making your Job a Climate Job might not work for you
With climate change becoming the most urgent topic for humanity to tackle, more and more people are looking to transition into climate work. Calls from UN general secretary that “our world needs climate action on all fronts - everything, everywhere, all at once” are driving the climate career movement globally, and people are inspired to turn their job into a climate job. But does that work just like that?
I see much well-intentioned advice suggesting that one should simply transition their current role and apply for the same role in a climate-focused company. If you are a salesperson in corporate tech, you can now become a salesperson in a climate tech company. Or maybe you are a marketer in the beauty industry. Why not take your skills and become a marketer for a social justice organisation?
While this might seem like great advice for people who genuinely love what they do, it often falls short of addressing the deeper issues of job dissatisfaction and lack of fulfilment. People who want to work on climate are searching for meaning and fulfilment. In my research for the Climate Career Movement Report, I found that the number one reason why people are considering transitioning into climate is the desire to create real, meaningful impact. What is even more striking is the fact that aspiring changemakers are often bored, unfulfilled and stuck in a career that they "just stumbled into". They are in a career that doesn't fill their heart with joy and their mind with sparkly curiosity. Now imagine making that a climate job… it won't fix how you feel. If you don’t like the work you do, all you do is slapping a "climate" label on your career, in the hope that this will infuse your work with newfound purpose and passion.
“The reality is that transforming a boring job into a climate job is merely a superficial solution. All you do is put a bandaid on a lifeless career.”
Take Emma, one of my previous coaching clients. Emma worked as a marketing professional in corporate tech and initially decided to transition her marketing expertise into a climate tech startup. She was successful in her job interview and secured a role as marketing director in a climate tech company focused on renewable energy. She was buzzing the first few months in her new role, feeling alive and aligned to a bigger purpose. After six months her enthusiasm had worn off, she felt unmotivated and started questioning her career choices. That’s when she reached out to get career coaching support. She allowed herself to explore what meaningful work truly means for her, and what dreams she has that fill her heart with joy and her mind with that sparkly curiosity. She unearthed a deep desire to create something with her hands, to bring things to life from the ground up and do that in community with others. She started to explore her connection to land and Earth and joined community projects focused on regenerative forestry. At first, her journey looked like it was derailing from her marketing career. However, allowing herself to tinker and experiment led her to create a blended approach to her career. She now brings her marketing expertise as a freelancer to climate and impact organisations, while she continues to grow her knowledge about regenerative agriculture and rewilding practices. She is also growing her local network of other climate-conscious people, advocating for positive change in her community. She is now using her skills, knowledge and expertise as a stepping stone in her transition to a truly meaningful career.
As we learn from Emma’s journey, initially you might experience a surge of meaning and enthusiasm when you align your work with climate action. Yet, this euphoria is likely to fade if you are not in a career that aligns with your strengths and bigger purpose. This leaves you once again disillusioned and questioning your choices. The fundamental issue remains unaddressed: a lack of true engagement and fulfilment in your professional life.
A radically different approach to climate career transitions
As a positive psychologist, I advocate for a radically different approach to climate careers. Rather than hastily applying a climate label to your existing job, the emphasis should be on self-discovery and understanding what brings genuine meaning and purpose to your life. This requires introspection, deep contemplation, and a willingness to challenge preconceived notions and old beliefs you most likely carry within you and that inform your career choices. It also takes time and experimentation. So how do you go about that?
Challenging predominant paradigms about what a career should look like
If your motivation to pivot into a climate career stems from a desire for meaningful work, the first step is to identify what, at a core level, brings you a sense of purpose. This involves delving into your strengths, passions, values, and aspirations, moving beyond societal expectations and exploring questions of what success means to you when you strip it of its capitalist paradigm. It’s an exploration that asks you what legacy you want to leave for Earth, and what your work may look like when you become a good ancestor for generations to come. These are deep questions, challenging predominant Western paradigms and asking us to connect with something bigger than ourselves, something bigger than the here and now. A skilled career coach who works eco-aware and in service of Earth can hold that space for you to explore this safely and in a way that feels motivating and enlightening.
I deeply believe that transitioning into a climate career is an exciting opportunity to create a professional path that aligns with your true purpose and what lights up your heart and soul. It's about finding joy and motivation in your work, sustaining your enthusiasm not just in the short term, but for the long haul. That doesn’t mean that working on climate will always feel like you are dancing your best dance, full of life and joy. Working on climate will challenge you emotionally and mentally to a different degree than any corporate job will ever do. It will ask you to connect with the whole spectrum of human emotions and while this will feel deeply meaningful, it will also bring you to places of despair, frustration, pain and grief. Building a toolkit to deal with climate emotions is essential on the journey of change-making. Get the support you need for that too, to set yourself up for long-term success.
If you are exploring a career in climate, reach out to me for climate career coaching either 1:1 or as part of an energising group of changemakers with my 6-week community-focused course Find Your Climate Career.
