You Do Not Need Designations to be successful in Environmental Consulting

I was recently approached by students, people from parallel industries and experts in other fields who all asked a similar question, which was "can I do well in environmental consulting without a professional engineer or professional geoscientist designation". Yes! There may be some limitations, like the immediate ability to sign off on Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs) and removing yourself from one of the few ways you can be a Qualified Person (QP) under Ontario Regulations (I'm quoting through my current Provincial Area), but by no means are you unable to perform very well in the field. Here is a list of reasons why you can be successful and sometimes more successful as a non-engineer/non-geoscientist.

Technician Work (in my observations, there is no difference)

In Ontario (as far as I know in 2022), Professional Engineers and Geoscientists need four years of work experience (some exceptions) before getting their professional designations. During that time, there is no pay difference between an Engineer-In-Training (EIT), Geoscientist-In-Training (GIT) and every other environmental technician with the same experience (0-3.99 years) in one specific company (I'm trying to make bold statements, but there are always exceptions). In those four years, you can be promoted to a Project Manager before an engineer or geoscientist (as oddly as it sounds), as most do not get promoted into a managerial role until they receive their professional designation. In addition, you can be promoted into a Project Manager role with almost no limitations as most projects do not require an engineer or geoscientist to sign off on.

In my observations, there are many non-engineers/geoscientist technicians that write much better reports, carry out field work with more care and detail, and deserve to be moved up the corporate ladder at an accelerated pace. So do not be discouraged, but also a clear message to EITs and GITs that we need to step up our game.

Being Fulfilled is Defined by You

The designations do not define success or fulfillment. That is completely defined by you and determines your happiness. If your goals are financial, then you can make money without a designation and save as much of it as possible. If your goals are to make a difference in the field, then your hard work, ambition and technical success will be revered regardless of designations.

Liability

Designations carry tons of liability everywhere they go. A simple verbal recommendation in our field of practice to a neighbour can get Professional Engineers into a lot of trouble. We hear tons of horror stories of liability, lawsuits and endangering of lives just because of something an engineer had said or done. I truly believe those without designations are more likely to think outside the box and reimagine how to solve problems with this "handicap". I do not believe it is a "handicap", rather a small obstacle that can be solved one way or another.

Trying to make $100,000 per year (once my personal definition of success)

The best way to make six figures is to do something you love while doing it (so that you are happy and making six figures). So, if your goal is completely financial, being an engineer or geoscientist is not the only way. Earlier on in my career, my main goal was to find ways to start making six figures a year. It seems to be the magical number for most people. You can definitely achieve financial wealth as an engineer, geoscientist and environmental consultant with any other designation or no acronym after your name. It comes down to how badly you want it, your passion, ambition, work ethic and strategically accelerating your own growth (i.e. finding mentors and reading books). I am surrounded by colleagues, coworkers, clients, industry friends, industry leaders from all walks of life, with different educational backgrounds, different designations and many are leaps and bound ahead of me financially. It is not a lack of resources, but a lack of resourcefulness (I'm stealing this one from Tony Robbins). I find those who know their obstructions (i.e. not having a designation) think well outside the box to get the job done.

The statement "do what you love" is another completely different topic. I loved the 99U Talks by Cal Newport "American culture is obsessed with the idea that we need to find our passion in order to be happy and successful". I'm not 100% sure if that's the correct title of the talk, but I suggest looking it up. I may do an entire article based on the discussions from this video. For now, I'll set this on the backburner and try to wrap this article up.

My experience has started with environmental engineering, which led me to massive failure (because of poor decisions, immaturity, and bad luck), which then led me to sales and marketing. At first, I was terrible at it, but eventually I figured out where my strengths exist and now I am completely passionate about it. For transparency, I'm still recovering from past mistakes, many of my days are long, hard and stressful, but overall, I love the impact sales and marketing makes for my definition of success. I love when someone decides they trust in what we do and that we can solve their problems.

Skills are Forever and not Limited to your Designation

The skills developed from working in environmental consulting are yours forever, not limited to designations and definitely not considered lower because of strictly lacking in acronyms. If you have spent 10 years developing your skills, honing in on the craft and practiced it day in and day out, then you are highly likely to be a professional in your field. That is also why the Professional Engineers of Ontario and Professional Geoscientists Ontario both have a limited license for those with such experiences.

Designations, do you need one or want one?

If at the end of it you want an engineering or geoscientist designation for the prestige, then I say go for it! Its value is defined completely differently from one person to another and sometimes it does grant a greater sense of trust from clients and strangers to carry designations. However, I recommend not being stuck on making life decisions based on acronyms, rather I suggest you define yourself from the happiness you have for yourself. Let's work together to make a deep impact in the short life we all have to live.