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I have been looking into this field for a while. It uses all of my background as is outside, not in a building doing paperwork. I was a Biology major with minors in geology and chemistry.
What is the good, the bad and the ugly about this career?
Thankyou,
Red Rock
It's a via'ble field and often gets passed by.
I started out in Environmental Analytical Chemist in the 1960's when everyone was trying to find alternatives to DDT pesticides.
If you want to work in the labs in this field you'll be working with some rather ugly sample types: wastewater, pesticide and aromatic hydrocarbons in a varitey of sample types.
If you care about the environment, it's a good field to feel like you are contributing to changes.
It's not glamorous work and involves anal retentive details but if you have the mindset of an anaytical chemist, you'll be happy.
Many government jobs are in this area.
I am currently in the hospital lab now and I am having problems with some of the minute details here. Would I have the same problems there? I have seen a job opening but it does not say much about the testing where it is done. It sounds like its mostly collection.
Red Rock
I've been an Environmental Scientist (not specifically a health scientist) since 1990. I started out as well as a chemical analyst in the Soil Characterization Lab at a university. Yes, there are some nasty samples out there. The lab I worked at was very underfunded and some of the lab broke OSHA standards such as good hood ventilation for aromatic hydrocarbon samples and such. I understand from several of my friends who have state jobs where budgets are slashed, that still can be commonplace. It sounds like you are in a lab environment but there are alternative routes, depending on your age, experience, etc that can take you away from lab/field work, and away from some of the nasty stuff if that's what you want. I went to work for an engineering environmental consulting firm and am still in the private sector where I more managed what the field and lab people did, and took their results and made sense of results as applicable to the project. Taking the data, and connecting dots along with all my requisite background was fun. I totally switched gears in 2000 and now do GIS. In my company though, we have many people who do risk analysis and risk management. All I'm saying, is there are alternatives but it sounds like you want to get out of the office or that you would stay with testing?
I guess I would not mind being outside again. Somehow it is in my bones. I guess that is why I ride and hike. I have not and try to detest paying money for a gym membership when I can be outside enjoying the sunshine etc.
I did an internship through the Museum of Northern Arizona in Paleotology and totally loved it.
Are these samples any worse than dealing with HIV and other human contracted dieseases that you find in the hospital?
What about detail work and multitasking? How do these fit into this type of job?
I'm an ES, but my degree is in chemistry. It's a pretty broad field, and can mean a lot of different things. I got my start doing consulting work. My position was such that I spent a lot of time verifying data usability, managing electronic data, interfacing with labs, coordinating with field staff, and writing reports. Very little of my time was spent in the field. Most entry-level ESs in the private sector spend way more time in the field than I did, and can purge wells in their sleep.
I was happy to leave the firm that I was working for and the private sctor in general. My experience with consulting was that you're working for the client and the bottom line, not necessarily what's best for the environment. Long hours, travel to who-knows-where, etc. My commute sucked too, but that can happen with any job.
I now work in government, doing environmental compliance. There's a fair amount of field work, but the bulk of my job still has me in an office, writing letters, regulations, outreach and enforcement documents, making phone calls, etc. The best parts of my job: a) normal work hours (very little overtime or travel required- I get to be home with my family every night), b) self-managed workload- I manage my sites, and seek input from senior staff or management when I need it. No boss or client breathing down my neck. c) Helping people who truly need it. My clients are the citizens.
The bad? Politics. Standing on a site in February when it's 10 degrees out, or August when it's 100 degrees out, but you've got to be there because it's your site. The eternal curse of government- never enough staff for the tasks that need to be done.
It's definitely not glamorous. But, at the end of the day, I feel like I've made a difference to the citizens here, to their health and safety, and to our environment. And that keeps me going.
EDIT: Yep- tons of detail work and multi-tasking. I constantly have multiple projects that are all equally serious.
I kind of work in that field, i do a lot of indoor air quality testing...there is a lot of field work, which is a lot of driving around - ie i can't commute in by bike. I work for a private firm.
it can get pretty repetitive, and sometimes boring, because there is fair bit of waiting for the equipment (to do their thing)...
I appreciate more "the big picture" aspect of my job - that by doing what i am doing i am helping the indoor environment be better...
I have an MSc in env sci that focused on geochemistry.
As I mentioned, I think, this is a "local" job out of the Health Department. The actual site is about a 2 hour drive from where I live. In the description it mentions everything from food health to culinary water and many more that I can't remember. Even going to court if people do not comply!?! I have never been to court before. Yikes.
Thankyou for your collective help here. You all are making me think on this.
Red Rock
Well, if you don't like working in a hospital lab, would working in a Health Department restaurant inspection lab really be that different?
Gathering samples in restaurants isn't that much being "outside," other than getting in and out of your car in the parking lot.
20 years ago, I worked in marine zoology looking at pollution. (oil spills, dredge sites, underwater dump sites) Gathering samples was great fun, lots of boats and beaches and tromping around in wetsuits and rubber boots. Very romantickal. But for all the fun and travel (and seasickness) of field work, there was only a small proportion of my time spent doing that. By far the largest amount of time was spent working through those samples in the lab! Next largest blob of my time was spent doing data entry. Luckily I really liked that super-picky detail stuff.
You'll be dealing with cooties in any lab, whether its HIV or Hep, or E. coli or BSE, or cancerous chemicals or grody samples of muck that make you wanna puke. Researchers rarely need to take samples of nice stuff, in any field.
If your goal is to spend more time outside, I'd be aiming straight for a job that will really get you outside. Can you contact the paleontology folks from your student days? Anyone from any of your student jobs is a good contact. Go straight for what you want, don't go into a health department job that is only appealing because it's a different lab than the one you're already in. Life is short!
Thanks Knott-I appreciate your candid view of this job and one I am in currently.
I have recieved more information from all of you folks on this than I could have ever imagined. I am noticing things here that I am wondering about so that is why I am looking. I guess you could say it is like window shopping in the job department. This type of work has come up before, so that is why I started asking questions.
Red Rock
I have a degree in Environmental Health, surprisingly enough, from Boise State University.
My take - it is a very pragmatic degree. You learn how it really is out there, with some tough academics - organic chemistry, cellular biology.
I now work for a state agency performing compliance inspections - inside, outside, nasty weather, good weather. Been there for almost 20 years. I took a supervisory role for awhile, and missed field work so much, I took a voluntary demotion to get out there. I love it, other than overwork. In government, you are always doing more with less. You well also make less working for government, but there are some pretty good trade offs doing that.
The job involves helping those who want help (90%), and enforcing against those who don't (10% - but they sure take a lot of time!). I like working with people, and there is a lot of that.
All these decisions are personal, feel free to e-mail me with more questions. I'll give you the good, the bad and the ugly.