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What is an environmental specialist and how to become one
An environmental specialist protects the environment by analyzing and assessing potential sources of pollution or damage. They may work for government agencies, private companies, or consulting firms. Environmental specialists conduct site assessments, evaluate data, develop plans to minimize environmental impact, and monitor regulatory compliance. They may also communicate with stakeholders and the public about environmental issues. Environmental specialists may specialize in areas such as air quality, water quality, waste management, or sustainability.
What general advice would you give to an environmental specialist?
Catherine Etter Ph.D.
Professor of environmental science/technology, Cape Code Community College
Avg. Salary $54,482
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 5%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%
Asian 5.03%
Black or African American 3.09%
Hispanic or Latino 6.19%
Unknown 3.68%
White 81.24%
Genderfemale 37.36%
male 62.64%
Age - 37American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 37Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is good
6.4 - fair
What are the pros and cons of being an environmental specialist?
Pros
Opportunities for travel and fieldwork
Variety of job tasks and projects
Potential for career advancement
Competitive salary and benefits
Flexibility in job location and work arrangements
Cons
Exposure to hazardous materials and conditions
High stress levels and tight deadlines
Long hours and irregular schedules
Heavy reliance on funding availability
Limited public understanding of the importance of environmental work
Environmental specialist career paths
Key steps to become an environmental specialist
Explore environmental specialist education requirements
Start to develop specific environmental specialist skills
Skills Percentages Hazardous Waste 9.02% Environmental Compliance 7.51% Hazardous Materials 5.67% EPA 5.63% Customer Service 5.18% Complete relevant environmental specialist training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmental specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an environmental specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental specialist resumes.Research environmental specialist duties and responsibilities
- Manage all compliance recordkeeping, sampling, monitoring, auditing, testing and training activities.
- Lead numerous consultation meetings with USACE, BOEM, USCG, NMFS, USFWS and other state and federal agencies.
- Conduct environmental and safety due diligence on industrial facilities of clients to evaluate compliance with applicable OSHA safety guidelines and EPA regulations
- Experience reviewing existing sewer collection, and conveyance plans.
Prepare your environmental specialist resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental specialist resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an environmental specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable environmental specialist resume templates
Build a professional environmental specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your environmental specialist resume.
Apply for environmental specialist jobs
Now it's time to start searching for an environmental specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first environmental specialist job
Are you an environmental specialist?
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Average environmental specialist salary
The average environmental specialist salary in the United States is $54,482 per year or $26 per hour. Environmental specialist salaries range between $36,000 and $80,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do environmental specialists rate their job?
Environmental specialist reviews
Firstly, the most important is to protect our planet for us and the future generations. Secondly our planet is not going to support the pressure and negative impacts because of the big Increased human population . Finally our planet needs more and more environmental specialists to regulate and control all human activities, especially the ilegal ones.
I don’t like when big companies they know what’s wrong and what’s right, but still the destroy, like cutting trees in Brazil and the other side big companies even knowing those trees are ilegal, but still they continuing to porches. There for I can’t understand and I don’t like.
Can be stressful at times
It allows me to work with wonderful people. The change I get to make is amazing.
It is very annoying sometimes
Environmental specialist FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
