Environmental Scientists and Specialists
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics > Science and MathematicsProjected Growth: Faster than average
Projected Job Openings
Considerable Preparation Needed
Job Description
Your job is to Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or the health of the population. Using knowledge of various scientific disciplines, may collect, synthesize, study, report, and recommend action based on data derived from measurements or observations of air, food, soil, water, and other sources.
Common job titles of Environmental Scientists and Specialists include:
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Experience and Education
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for this occupation. For example, a person in this occupation must complete four years of college and work for several years in industry to be considered qualified.
69.7% said they needed a Bachelor's Degree.
26.06% said they needed a Master's Degree.
Tasks
Develop methods to minimize the impact of production processes on the environment, based on the study and assessment of industrial production, environmental legislation, and physical, biological, and social environments.
Process and review environmental permits, licenses, or related materials.
Design or direct studies to obtain technical environmental information about planned projects.
Prepare charts or graphs from data samples, providing summary information on the environmental relevance of the data.
Provide advice on proper standards and regulations or the development of policies, strategies, or codes of practice for environmental management.
Evaluate violations or problems discovered during inspections to determine appropriate regulatory actions or to provide advice on the development and prosecution of regulatory cases.
Conduct environmental audits or inspections or investigations of violations.
Conduct applied research on environmental topics, such as waste control or treatment or pollution abatement methods.
Supervise or train students, environmental technologists, technicians, or other related staff.
Provide scientific or technical guidance, support, coordination, or oversight to governmental agencies, environmental programs, industry, or the public.
Communicate scientific or technical information to the public, organizations, or internal audiences through oral briefings, written documents, workshops, conferences, training sessions, or public hearings.
Collect, synthesize, analyze, manage, and report environmental data, such as pollution emission measurements, atmospheric monitoring measurements, meteorological or mineralogical information, or soil or water samples.
Monitor effects of pollution or land degradation and recommend means of prevention or control.
Research sources of pollution to determine their effects on the environment and to develop theories or methods of pollution abatement or control.
Monitor environmental impacts of development activities.
Determine data collection methods to be employed in research projects or surveys.
Analyze data to determine validity, quality, and scientific significance and to interpret correlations between human activities and environmental effects.
Review and implement environmental technical standards, guidelines, policies, and formal regulations that meet all appropriate requirements.
Plan or develop research models, using knowledge of mathematical and statistical concepts.
Develop programs designed to obtain the most productive, non-damaging use of land.
Investigate and report on accidents affecting the environment.
Develop the technical portions of legal documents, administrative orders, or consent decrees.
Tools
Water velocity flow meters
Water quality testing photometers
Viscosity meters
Turbidimeters
Toxic mold test kits
Submersible water data loggers
Stormwater samplers
All ToolsSpectrophotometers
Sound level meters
Soil probes
Soil gas sampling systems
Soil analysis kits
Smoke generators
Scintillation probes
Scintillation counters
Rain water samplers
Radon monitors
Psychrometers
Pocket personal computers PC
Photoionization detectors PID
pH meters
Personal computers
Particulate samplers
Ozone meters
Oil water interface meters
Notebook computers
Noise dosimeters
Nephelometers
Multiparameter water quality instruments
Multichannel analyzers
Moisture meters
Mercury monitors
Mass spectrometers
Manometers
Mainframe computers
Liquid samplers
Lead water sampling kits
Lead air sampling kits
Ionization chambers
HNu photoionization detectors PID
Heat stress monitors
Hand held augers
Groundwater monitoring systems
Global positioning system GPS receivers
Geiger-Mueller meters
Gas spillage detectors
Gas chromatographs GC
Fuel temperature sensors
Field radiological measuring devices
Fiberglass metering manholes
Explosimeters
Evaporation gauge sensors
Electromagnetic field EMF meters
Drop count industrial water test kits
Dosimeters
Digital survey meters
Digital cameras
Desktop computers
Depth meters
Dataloggers
Core samplers
Comparator water test kits
Combustible gas monitors
Colorimeters
Coliform testing systems
Closed pipe Doppler water flow meters
Chlorine meters
Chlorine dioxide meters
Carbon monoxide meters
Bottom dredge samplers
Bomb samplers
Bailers
Automatic samplers
Atmospheric deposition collectors
Anemometers
Analog survey meters
Ammonia meters
Ambient air quality monitoring systems
All terrain vehicles ATV
Airboats
Air/soil temperature sensors
Air quality dataloggers
Aerosol spectrometers
Technologies
Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator
Bentley MicroStation
ESRI ArcGIS software
Geographic information system GIS software
IBM SPSS Statistics
ADMS pollution modeling software
CAP88-PC
All TechnologiesCERC EMIT
Chemical management tracking software
Chemicals and Irrigation CANDI
Compass software
Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
DataPipe EHS
DQO ELIPGRID-PC
EarthSoft EQuIS Geology
Ecotech WinAQMS
Ecotech WinCollect
Emissions tracking software
ESRI ArcView
Geomechanical design analysis GDA software
Golden Software Surfer
Hotspot
Laboratory information management system LIMS
Lakes Environmental EcoRisk View
Lakes Environmental Emissions View
Lakes Environmental ISC-AERMOD View
Lakes Environmental SLAB View
Link Microtek
Mapping software
Material safety data sheet MSDS software
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server MOSS
MIRS Compliance
Rad Pro Calculator
RockWare ArcMap
RSA RadCalc
Smart Data Solutions RS Solutions
SoundPLAN
Sun Microsystems Java
TANKS
Tucows ChemBase
Waters eLab Notebook
Wolfel IMMI
Abilities
Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Comprehension
Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Comprehension
Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Expression
Communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Expression
Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Problem Sensitivity
Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Deductive Reasoning
Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Inductive Reasoning