Careers in environmental protection involve jobs that help reduce the negative environmental impacts of today's actions, restore damaged ecosystems to health, or build sustainable ways of life for the future. Fifty years ago, most of today's environmental careers did not exist. Today, the field of environmental jobs is one of the fastest-growing job markets; there are more than one hundred environmental-protection careers to consider—ranging from environmental law, politics, journalism, and education, to highly technical and scientific jobs in such fields as environmental engineering, biology, chemistry, and architecture.

What happened to create so many new jobs in environmental protection? The environmental movement happened. During the past half century, American society began to adopt a new set of environmental values. The public also started to explore the idea that people could often save money—and sometimes even make money—by protecting the environment...