Cluster Guide
Career Switch to Climate: A 90-Day Action Plan
Switching careers feels daunting, but it does not need to take years. This week-by-week plan gives you a structured path from "interested in climate" to "submitting strong applications" in 90 days. Adapt the pace to your schedule, but keep the sequence — each phase builds on the last.
Month 1: Learn & Audit (Weeks 1 – 4)
The first month is about building climate literacy and understanding where you already fit.
Week 1: Map the landscape
Spend this week reading broadly. Follow climate newsletters (Heatmap News, Carbon Brief, CleanTechnica) and browse job boards to see what roles exist. Create a spreadsheet of 20 roles that interest you and note the skills each one requires. Read our climate careers pillar guide for a comprehensive overview of the sector.
Week 2: Skills audit
Compare your current skills against the job descriptions you collected. Identify overlaps — project management, data analysis, writing, stakeholder engagement — and gaps. Be honest but generous: most career switchers underestimate how transferable their experience is.
Week 3: Start a structured course
Enrol in a climate-focused programme to build foundational knowledge. Terra.do offers a 12-week fellowship that covers climate science, solutions, and career strategy. Climate Draft runs shorter bootcamps focused on specific sectors like carbon markets or clean energy. Even free resources like Project Drawdown's solutions library or MIT's Climate Primer can fill knowledge gaps quickly.
Week 4: Choose your niche
Based on your audit and learning so far, narrow your target to two or three specific role types. Trying to be "open to anything in climate" makes networking harder and applications weaker. Pick a lane — you can always pivot later.
Month 2: Build & Network (Weeks 5 – 8)
Now that you know what you are aiming for, start building evidence and relationships.
Week 5: Join climate communities
Sign up for Work on Climate (Slack community with 40,000+ members), MCJ Collective, and My Climate Journey's newsletter. Introduce yourself and state what you are looking for. These communities are where jobs get shared before they hit public boards.
Week 6: Start informational interviews
Reach out to five people working in your target roles. Use LinkedIn, community Slack channels, or Twitter/X. Ask about their day-to-day, how they broke in, and what skills matter most. Take notes — these conversations will sharpen your positioning and may lead directly to referrals.
Week 7: Build a portfolio piece
Create tangible evidence of your climate capability. Write a policy brief, build a data visualisation of emissions trends, draft a sample grant proposal, or publish a blog post analysing a climate company's strategy. One strong portfolio piece is worth more than a dozen certifications.
Week 8: Volunteer or freelance
Offer your skills to a climate organisation on a short-term basis. Platforms like Catchafire connect professionals with non-profits needing pro bono help. Even 10 hours of volunteer work gives you a real project to reference in interviews and a contact who can vouch for your commitment.
Month 3: Apply & Land (Weeks 9 – 12)
You have the knowledge, network, and proof of work. Now execute a focused job search.
Week 9: Rewrite your CV and LinkedIn
Reframe your experience in climate terms. Lead with a summary that names the sector and your target role. Quantify impact where possible. Add your course completions, volunteer work, and portfolio to LinkedIn. Make sure your headline says what you want to do next, not just what you have done before.
Week 10: Apply strategically
Submit five to eight high-quality applications per week. Prioritise roles where you have a connection inside the organisation — referrals dramatically increase response rates. Tailor every cover letter to the specific team and mission. Mention your portfolio piece and volunteer experience.
Week 11: Prepare for interviews
Climate interviews often include a "Why climate?" question. Have a genuine, specific answer. Practice case studies relevant to your target role — draft a mock comms plan, walk through a carbon accounting scenario, or present your portfolio piece as a work sample.
Week 12: Follow up and iterate
Send thoughtful follow-ups to every application and interview. If you receive rejections, ask for feedback. Refine your materials based on what you learn. The average career switch takes three to six months, so if you are not there yet at day 90, you are still well ahead of where you started.
Keep going
A career switch is a process, not a single event. The 90-day framework gets you from zero to credible candidate. Stay active in the communities you have joined, keep learning, and remember that every person working in climate today was once exactly where you are now. For the full picture of what climate careers look like, revisit our Climate & Environment Careers guide.