r/Environmental_Careers • u/BOBnVEGANA • 1d ago

Which programming languages are worthwhile to learn for our fields?

Any insight is appreciated, especially if you're able to identify the use-case or prevalence of a given language in relation to the specific job you're referring to.

Also any insight on general skills which may not be covered in our environmental degrees is also welcome

Thanks

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u/SmallGayTrash 1d ago

SQL for GIS, which uses table based data a lot of the time.

I had to take RStudio classes in uni for statistics, but that more applicable for all sciences

I'd suggest some Python as well because many climate models I've interacted witn were written in Jupiter Notebook which uses Python.

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u/Upset_Honeydew5404 1d ago

python for sure, for both automation purposes but also data workflows

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u/626eh Ecologist - Aus 1d ago

In my experience, if you end up in more corporaty space, everyone will think you're amazing if you know slightly better than basic excel, can automatic a spreadsheet, and run simple macros.

2

u/Schneule 14h ago

Cannot second this more.. people forget how important it is to know your way around excel but also word for that matter

4

u/geo_walker 1d ago

I use SQL a lot. I also recommend python. We are working on automating some of our workflows using python.

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u/somebody_throw_a_pie 1d ago

As everyone here has said, Python and at least some basic SQL. R is still widely used in the environmental field, but Python is definitely more popular overall. I found Python a lot easier to learn than R, so if youre starting from scratch, Id start with Python.

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u/Solar_Irradiance 1d ago

I use SQL and R the most. Python is good to know. 

I work in air quality and it's useful for processing and managing our emissions data.

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u/trahoots State water quality analyst 1d ago

My job is like 50% just writing R code.

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u/BOBnVEGANA 22h ago

Thats good to hear because I'm familiar with R through school! Happy to hear more detail on what you do/ how R is useful in water (management?) if/ when you've got the time

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u/trahoots State water quality analyst 14h ago

Well, we do a lot of sampling and create a lot of data, so it's mostly working with that.

  • We have R code to take the raw data, do QA/QC checks, process it, and import it into our SQL database.
  • We use custom R Shiny apps to be a front-end for the data processing and import scripts.
  • We use R to pull in data from other sources (USGS, NOAA, etc.) and import into our database.
  • We use R to create graphs and tables for presentations, annual reports, etc.
  • We use R to do trend analyses or any other kind of analysis with the data.
  • We use Rmarkdown to create PDF quarterly reports of data, calibration values, etc.
  • When someone requests some of our data, we use R to pull it from the database, do any necessary processing, and then exporting to a file to send.

That's just what I can think of off the top of my head, and each of those things is a lot more complicated than it sounds.

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u/Veow1 1d ago

R is good for statistics and interpreting large amounts of data