Anyone an Envronmental Health Scientist

[KnottedYet]

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!

[Red Rock]

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

[Boise Birder]

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.