Grad’s Dilemma: Make Money or Make a Difference?

In June, Craig von Freymann will receive his master’s degree in business from UC Irvine. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the $52,000 bill for his sheepskin is about to become due and payable.

Von Freymann, 31, worries that his student loan payments (which could be as high as $700 a month) will severely crimp his career plans. He would like to land a public-interest job, perhaps with an environmental advocacy organization. But starting salaries in the field are notoriously modest.

Would the idealistic Huntington Beach resident find himself struggling to meet financial obligations on $20,000 a year, while his fellow MBAs deliberate over options for their new luxury cars? Or is there some way von Freymann can make a difference in the world and a decent living, too?

For help, von Freymann consulted Mark Albion, a former Harvard Business School professor, and the founder of You & Co., a Dover, Mass.-based career-management company that helps MBAs create fulfilling work lives.

Albion assured von Freymann that well-paying environmental advocacy jobs do exist.

“In the past, you’d sometimes have to take a hit in salary if you pursued a socially responsible career, but in the last 10 years that’s changed,” Albion said. “Environmental issues are one of the top three concerns of CEOs right now.”

The soon-to-be graduate’s challenge will be to find out where he “fits,” Albion said.

While von Freymann explores career opportunities, he can take environment-related course work, network with people in the industry, and perhaps volunteer with nonprofits such as the Surfrider Foundation or the Environmental Defense Fund. That would boost his marketability, Albion said. Some organizations, such as the Ecological Society of America, offer paid internships.

Albion referred to these preparatory steps as “creating a platform, then leaping.” Leaping involves risk-taking, he said. And von Freymann initially may have to accept a low wage or move to another city, possibly Washington, because most environmental agencies and advocacy groups are located there.

Additionally, Albion warned, von Freymann should avoid the mistake that thousands of people make: working for good pay in a job they can’t stand.

“Don’t get really good at something you don’t want to do,” Albion said.

For the last six years, while working toward his degree at night, von Freymann has been employed as a special investigator at the State Bar of California. He says he enjoys this work, which allows him to help people who may have received unfair treatment from attorneys. The pay is good, too--about $44,000 a year. But because he does not have a law degree, von Freymann says opportunities for promotion are limited.

Nonetheless, von Freymann says he might stay at the State Bar even after he graduates in June. That would allow him to explore the environmental-protection field or other public-interest vocations, while collecting a decent paycheck.

Here’s what Albion and other experts also suggested for von Freymann:

Enroll in environmental studies courses. A basic knowledge of environmental sciences is mandatory for people entering this field, experts say.

“You really need to know enough about science and technology to be able to talk to chemists or engineers [about environmental issues],” said John Morelli, chair of the Environmental Management Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

More universities are offering programs in environmental management and policy. RIT recently introduced an Internet-based environmental health and safety management program. But nearly all such schools require science prerequisites such as chemistry, biology or geology of their matriculating students.

Explore diverse environmental advocacy professions. “The field has dramatically switched in the past few years from needing only technologists to needing people with a wide variety of backgrounds,” said Richard Young, executive director of the National Registry of Environmental Professionals.

That’s because, as Albion noted, environmental issues are affecting companies as never before.

“Because corporations are being subjected to very strict EPA regulations right now, people who can optimize business within these constraints are very valuable,” said professor Micha Tomkiewicz, director of the environmental studies program at Brooklyn College in New York.

Marketing experts who can help promote new “green” technologies also are in big demand, said George Korfiatis, director of the Center of Environmental Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. “That’s what I see as the hotbed right now,” he said.

New positions, such as environmental affairs director and senior environmental policy advisor, are being created at large companies that need to monitor the environmental impact of their activities. American corporations may soon even have chief environmental officers.

Training in strategic planning, public relations, marketing and finance make MBAs particularly attractive candidates for these jobs, said Carol Singer, executive director of the National Assn. of Environmental Management in Washington. They also can consider careers as environmental consultants who advise companies about safety, compliance and technologies, said Ted Hullar of LFR Levine Fricke, an environmental consulting firm in Emeryville, Calif.

Should von Freymann complete environmental science undergraduate studies and gain field experience, more opportunities may open up to him. He could become a certified industrial hygienist (overseeing physical and chemical substances that may lead to health problems) or an ISO 14001 auditor (evaluating environmental management systems), said Thea Dunmire, president of Enlar Compliance Services Inc. of Largo, Fla.

Also, because von Freymann loves to teach, he could consider becoming a conservation educator. And his strong social skills, coupled with his experience at the State Bar, might make him a good candidate for a lobbying career. Environmental lobbyists earn between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, said Gerry Leape, Oceans Campaign coordinator for Greenpeace International in Washington.

Create an achievable financial plan. Financial advisor Neal Frankle of Frankle & Associates in Woodland Hills asked von Freymann if he would consider accepting traditional, higher-paying “MBA-type work” for a few years so he could pay off his loans. That would enable von Freymann to accept an entry-level advocacy job later on without financial stress.

But von Freymann is hesitant to take that road.

“If I wasn’t doing good in the world at work, I wouldn’t be happy,” he said.

Frankle then cautioned von Freymann not to leap too quickly into an entry-level environmental job: His student loan obligations could make him regret his haste.

“When he starts making those payments, and he finds himself making only $20,000 to $30,000 a year, he’d be very unhappy,” Frankle said. The two agreed that von Freymann might be best served by remaining in his State Bar position as he sets new educational and work goals.

The financial counselor also recommended that, should von Freymann find himself cash-shy in upcoming months, he consider suspending payments into his 457 retirement savings plan, and use the money to pay down his loan.

Keep focused on your goals. Albion put von Freymann in touch with contacts at environmental organizations and networking associations, who could tell him more about career opportunities.

Meanwhile, nearly 8,000 miles away aboard a ship in Antarctic waters, John Bowler, lead campaigner for Greenpeace, offered some closing advice for von Freymann: Stay true to your dream.

“This work is so fulfilling,” said Bowler, who’s been with Greenpeace for more than 12 years. He’s currently leading a mission to block Japanese whalers from killing the great mammals.

“You know you’re doing something that helps the people of the world, and the world itself. That’s not the sort of thing you’ll see or do too often in other businesses.”