How To Become An Environmental Supervisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an environmental supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Andrea Welker Ph.D.,

Karl Offen Ph.D.

An environmental supervisor is a key person in charge of ensuring that a company is complying with all environmental policies and regulations. They work in both public and private sectors, usually for companies that have direct effects on the environment, including mining, aerospace, lumber, energy, and more.

Apart from ensuring compliance, an environmental supervisor is also the point person for developing and implementing strategies that will help the company become more sustainable, and thus minimize its impact on the environment. On top of this, an environmental supervisor may also be responsible for managing environmental strategy budgets and liaising with regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

One can become an environmental supervisor with a high school diploma or GED, but applicants with a bachelor's degree in an environment-related subject are preferred. Voluntary or paid experience working with environmental departments or agencies is also a plus.

More importantly, an aspiring environmental supervisor must have genuine passion and interest in protecting the environment. This should come with extensive knowledge on environmental legislation, renewable energy sources, and current climate and environmental issues.

Depending on education and experience level, an environmental supervisor can earn an annual salary between $45,000 to $89,000.

What general advice would you give to an environmental supervisor?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.

ScoreEnvironmental SupervisorUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,646

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 10.13%

Black or African American 3.92%

Hispanic or Latino 10.81%

Unknown 3.86%

White 70.84%

Gender

female 27.76%

male 72.24%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

6.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an environmental supervisor

Explore environmental supervisor education requirements

Most common environmental supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

58.2 %

Associate

15.4 %

High School Diploma

13.1 %

Start to develop specific environmental supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
Industrial Cleaning	8.29%
Environmental Services	7.44%
OSHA	6.82%
Emergency Response	5.14%
Safety Procedures	4.88%

Complete relevant environmental supervisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmental supervisors 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 supervisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental supervisor resumes.

Research environmental supervisor duties and responsibilities

Manage the safety and health programs for glassware manufacturing including emergency medical team, OSHA compliance, and H1N1 initiatives.
Manage and conduct various environmental engineering projects at DOD facilities.
Develop and implement programs and procedures to ensure compliance with EPA, state, and local environmental regulations.
DOT RCRA certify hazardous waste train as generator

Prepare your environmental supervisor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental supervisor 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 supervisor 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 supervisor resume templates

Build a professional environmental supervisor 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 supervisor resume.