DOT and the Class of 2024
On finding your calling, why every job will be a sustainability job and becoming 1 in 8 billion
This is Dot. She's the reason I pivoted from brand planning to sustainability in 2006. As soon as I became a mum I couldn't go on selling people stuff they didn't need for a living and decided to bring my values into my work.
Fast forward 18 years and I'll be speaking to her High School graduating class this week about careers in sustainability and impact (how, already?!). Things have changed so dramatically for careers in our field over the past 18 years. My job didn’t exist when I invented it, nor did most of the degree programs that prepare students for careers in sustainability today.
So I asked the LinkedIn community for ideas on guidance to share with today’s students that would be a little more practical and current than the Mcgyvered approach I took. I asked: What advice would you share with high schoolers today (and the leaders of tomorrow) with an interest in sustainability and impact? What should they study? What should they do once they've graduated? What else should I share?
The community delivered. To date the post has received 30,000 views and 100s of comments. Their insights were so beautiful that I decided rather than write up a talk, I’d share a sampling with you verbatim here, with some editorializing from me. I’ll let you know what the Class of 2024 makes of it all.
Find a calling, not just a job
Many people shared some version of the concept of Ikigai. I say your opportunity sits at the intersection of:
What you’re good at
What you love doing
What you can make money doing
What the world needs
Careers in impact, purpose and sustainability are unique in bringing the #4 to the table, and for many of us that’s where the motivation and meaning lie. And, unlike in days of yore, careers in impact no longer have to mean sacrificing #3, financial security.
“Find what you really care about, and live a life that shows it" - Hunter Lovins
Your job doesn’t exist yet
Many of us working in sustainability and impact today have jobs that didn’t exist when we were in high school, and this pace of change is set to continue. There are so many problems to solve, which in turn is creating so much opportunity.
“Look for categories that are big enough to make a difference and where small changes will make a massive difference. e.g. Food supply chains, soil restoration, etc. - Perry Haydyn Taylor
“Major in dirt, trash, or water, and you’ll have job security with impact” - Elaine Gallagher Adams
“This job I do now did not exist when I graduated from college, and the jobs of the future likely do not exist now” - Jennifer Boynton
Turn every job into a sustainability job
In the future, rather than sustainability being a job in itself, sustainability will be part of all jobs, and all skillsets will be needed to create the future we want - yes scientists, but also artists. People can advocate for sustainability from any seat, not just the sustainability team, becoming “sleeper agents” for sustainability (Kate Boydell). Maybe one day there won’t be a need for a sustainability team at all. 53% of undergraduate students will be in a career that is not tied to their major - so find what you love and build from there. This was by far the most popular theme.
“Advocates, artists, engineers, business operators, entrepreneurs, influencers, lawyers, policymakers, scientists, and educators all across the globe have a role to play” - Terra.do.
“The climate movement has, and needs, all kinds of careers and people. There is a lack of “green” tradespeople- solar panel installers, electric car repair, wind turbine professionals; without them, none of our big ideas work. The entire financial industry needs a climate lens, like yesterday. So you might have a climate-focused financial career. Want to be a chef? Guess what, the food we eat is a massive climate issue. Feeling entrepreneurial? Yes, please! The landscape needs innovators. So, I think there’s an opportunity to bring a climate lens to any career, vs thinking of them as separate- which is how we currently talk about it” - Laura Swapp
“To truly make an impact, it is going to take all of us - not just those in the "sustainability department." It will take engineers, entrepreneurs, teachers, economists, artists, and more; skills in finance, construction, operations, marketing, teaching, coding... to solve the world's most complex challenges, it will take all of us and diverse interests” - Joel Hartter
“Look for a company that shares your sustainability values and get a job in what you enjoy and are good at, even if not a sustainability job, and go to the sustainability team and offer to be an ally and bring sustainability to your function and unit. Over time you may either convert your own job or join the sustainability team” - Tensie Whelan
“We need to build up our ability to abolish fossil fuels. Full stop. So, we need to focus on creatives who can build campaigns and organize and innovate solutions that replace fossils. We need lawyers and elected officials who can un-subsidize fossils and create carbon taxes globally. We need agricultural talent to revolutionize our food system to move away from industrial meat and mono-crops to decentralized models (and decentralized energy). We need scientists and engineers who can create systems that mimic the R&D of billions of years of evolution in the natural world. But most of all, we need fierce, hands clawing in the dirt, unbendable and unbreakable hope” - Alison Wise
“No matter what you're good at, you can find a way to use your gifts to make the world more sustainable.”
Unleash your inner visionary
A friend recently admitted she thought I’d lost my mind when I pivoted from a stable career in advertising to pursue sustainability full time. Now, she says, she believes I was a visionary. I’m not sure about that, but if you’re passionate about sustainability, do expect to find yourself sometimes out of step with your peers. Trust your gut and do it anyway.
“Don't be afraid of trying to be/ do something no one else has done. Unless you are actually trying to do something no one else has done, you are likely not being true to your own unique authentic self! And this likely means you will be a pioneer. Throughout my green marketing career everyone thought I was crazy, and now the same people are asking "how did you know?" - Jaquelyn Ottman
Discover the art of being a changemaker
One of the arts of driving progress is in finding the balance between purity and pragmatism on the path to progress. As a changemaker, sometimes you channel your inner activist, and sometimes your inner diplomat. Learn when to push and when to give - with your values always serving as your true north. Keep one eye laser-focused on the goal but know compromise may be part of the journey (it’s not always a dirty word).
“Nothing is more difficult than to practice goodness within a system whose rules, goals, and information streams are geared to individualism, competitiveness, and cynicism. But it can be done” - Dana Meadows, as shared by Hunter Lovins
“The more you gain expertise while keeping your fresh perspective, the more you can use it to change the system rather than letting the system change you” - Boyd Cohen
“Be a corporate, but not so hard you lose all sense of outrage; be an activist, but not so hard you lose all sense of pragmatism. Don’t listen to previous generations” - Asheen Phansey
“Know your values and to look for organizations where you can find common ground” - Laura Swapp
“I would encourage anyone interested in making our world more sustainable to forge ahead despite the fact that it is and will continue to be very challenging” - Jennifer Kaplan
Channel your passion into progress
Through the years I’ve learned that action is a great antidote to anxiety. You are not powerless; on the contrary you can channel your passion into progress. Change takes longer than it should, and requires tenacity and commitment. But together, you will become unstoppable. Never give up.
“It's absolutely reasonable for them to be afraid and furious. There is no clear or easy path - but if they channel their fear and anger into their work, and learn how to work together with intention, then we all stand a better chance of surviving what happens next” - Onika Simon
“Continue to not accept the status quo. If there's enough of you demanding sustainability, it can motivate the people in power to do the bare minimum to placate you. What folks may not realize is this creates momentum for a movement that cannot be stopped. Demand sustainability. Anything less is unacceptable” - Steven T
Everyone’s essential
To change everything it will take everyone. Our movement needs to become much more diverse.
“Diversity is needed—in skills, disciplines, backgrounds, cultures” - Jennifer Paavola
Apply your own oxygen mask first
I learned the hard way that it’s easy to set yourself on fire to keep the world warm, as they say. Burnout in this work is real. The mental health challenges are real. Don’t feel guilty about taking time for rest and peace; it’s a marathon not a sprint.
“Stay committed to the cause but don't put too much pressure on yourself to solve all the world's sustainability problems.”
The binary choice
At the end of the day, we have a choice and one life to live, so choose wisely.
“We all have a choice to either be part of the solution or the problem” - Asheen Phansey
On wishing this talk wasn’t needed
Discovering sustainability has given me a career with so much meaning and the sense of purpose in life I craved. I’ll absolutely be sharing that passion with these future problem-solvers. But despite this inspiring, invaluable input, the thought I can’t escape is this: I wish I didn’t have to be talking to a bunch of high schoolers about careers in sustainability. I’d be much happier to be saying to them, “Hey, don’t worry, we, your parents and grandparents, we got this”. Leaving them free to pursue any career of their choosing, unburdened by existential threats to human survival.
Maybe we need to be delivering a commencement speech on careers in sustainability to Boomers, Gen Xers and elder Millennials instead of Gen Alpha.
A re-commencement, if you will.
Just a thought.
1 x 8 Billion = change
The last word as always to Hunter Lovins who has guided me so much in my career:
“Bucky Fuller said, "And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life's challenge and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person.”
To the question, but "I'm only one person, what can I do?..." I add: "...said 8 billion people.
I generally then add: Find your DOT: Do One Thing”
In closing:
Wishing courage, conviction, joy and a healthy dose of contrarianism to the class of 2024 - at The Clinton School and far beyond.
I’m so lucky that I found my DOT in life. May you find yours.
[To all commenters: thank you so much for your generous input. I recommend a read of the comments on the original post for a ton more inspiration and information.]
Recommended Resources:
NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business career resources and Jobs Board
Big Fish resources to help plan a career here
Wow!! I'm literally in tears reading this extraordinary post. Thank you dear Freya! What a keeper.
I love that artists were mentioned more than once... I felt like I was being encouraged, not just the class of 2024!