What does an environmental protection specialist do?
The duties of an environmental protection specialist depend on their line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around assessing and determining the level of pollution or damage in an area, gathering samples for scientific purposes, reviewing data and results, and providing recommendations to clients or government agencies. Furthermore, there are also instances where they have to summarize results and produce reports or presentations, coordinate with other specialists and scientists, and develop programs or projects to raise environmental awareness.
Environmental protection specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real environmental protection specialist resumes:
- Enter and manage water system inventory and monitoring requirements into EPA record database.
- Coordinate chemical inventories for all divisions per OSHA Hazcom requirements.
- Supervise facility and material flow diagram design/drafting via AutoCAD, and final permit renewal application documents preparation for TCEQ evaluation/approval.
- Conduct document quality analysis on environmental contractor bids submit for Superfund sites through research and background investigation.
Environmental protection specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Environmental Protection Specialists are proficient in Hazardous Waste, CFR, and DOD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Environmental Protection Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Hazardous Waste, 21%
Provided operational oversight of the installation s hazardous material management distribution system and the hazardous waste analysis and disposal program.
- CFR, 19%
Monitor petroleum storage tanks (AST/UST) for compliance with under 40 CFR 112.
- DOD, 16%
Applied DoD, Navy, NAVAIR, state and Federal statutes for environmental impact programs to ensure compliance.
- Site Inspections, 15%
Work performed included off and on site inspections, providing subject matter expertise, relative to generators needs.
- Environmental Compliance, 3%
Provided technical assistance to generators and handlers of waste techniques for assuring compliance with environmental compliance.
- Environmental Issues, 2%
Generated and made formal UST and RCRA presentations to Army-wide environmental conferences regarding various environmental issues.
Most environmental protection specialists use their skills in "hazardous waste," "cfr," and "dod" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential environmental protection specialist responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an environmental protection specialist to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "environmental scientists and specialists base their conclusions on careful analysis of scientific data." Additionally, an environmental protection specialist resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "review and analyze water quality data to determine the appropriate regulatory response and possible corrective actions. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform environmental protection specialist duties is communication skills. Environmental protection specialists responsibilities require that "environmental scientists and specialists may need to present and explain their findings to audiences of varying backgrounds and write technical reports." Environmental protection specialists also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "tested and monitored product safety, leading to safer environmental communications for regulatory compliance. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for environmental protection specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how environmental protection specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "environmental scientists and specialists typically work on teams along with scientists, engineers, and technicians." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an environmental protection specialist: "provide excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build and sustain effective citizen and state government relationships through conducting public meetings. ".
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what environmental protection specialists do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to environmental protection specialist responsibilities because "environmental scientists and specialists try to find the best possible solution to problems that affect the environment and people’s health." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical environmental protection specialist tasks: "increased audit finding resolution rates by 5% per quarter through implementation of corrective action plan. "
See the full list of environmental protection specialist skills
The three companies that hire the most environmental protection specialists are:
- The Building People3 environmental protection specialists jobs
- National Park Foundation2 environmental protection specialists jobs
- Beaumont Health
1 environmental protection specialists jobs
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Compare different environmental protection specialists
Environmental protection specialist vs. Laboratory analyst
A Laboratory Analyst helps conduct experiments, run laboratory tests, and analyze results. They compile and record data for the documentation needed for testing and report preparation.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between environmental protection specialists and laboratory analyst. For instance, environmental protection specialist responsibilities require skills such as "hazardous waste," "cfr," "dod," and "site inspections." Whereas a laboratory analyst is skilled in "test methods," "lab equipment," "lims," and "laboratory procedures." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Laboratory analysts really shine in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $47,806. Comparatively, environmental protection specialists tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $62,691.laboratory analysts tend to reach lower levels of education than environmental protection specialists. In fact, laboratory analysts are 10.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Environmental protection specialist vs. Archaeological field technician
The key role of an Archaeological Field Technician is to conduct archaeological surveys, testing, and data recovery. They prepare accurate and concise laboratory documentation/mapping.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real environmental protection specialist resumes. While environmental protection specialist responsibilities can utilize skills like "hazardous waste," "cfr," "dod," and "site inspections," archaeological field technicians use skills like "anthropology," "gps," "data collection," and "data recovery."
Archaeological field technicians may earn a lower salary than environmental protection specialists, but archaeological field technicians earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $40,901. On the other hand, environmental protection specialists receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $62,691.In general, archaeological field technicians achieve lower levels of education than environmental protection specialists. They're 7.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for environmental protection specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Mike Mooring Ph.D.
Professor, Point Loma Nazarene University
Environmental protection specialist vs. Surveillance technician
A man without specific skills can't be the perfect man. Surveillance Technician, thus, needs to be tactful. He/She has to possess a wide range of exposure such as technical skills like electrical and video installation knowledge, maintenance skills such as drilling, wiring, cabling, and network administration skills.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from environmental protection specialist resumes include skills like "hazardous waste," "cfr," "site inspections," and "environmental compliance," whereas a surveillance technician is more likely to list skills in "ladders," "cctv," "construction sites," and "surveillance equipment. "
Surveillance technicians typically earn lower educational levels compared to environmental protection specialists. Specifically, they're 11.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Environmental protection specialist vs. Hazardous waste technician
Types of environmental protection specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
