What does a staff environmental scientist do?
Staff Environmental Scientists are responsible for carrying out environmental evaluations and remediation work. Their duties include conducting technical analysis, facilitate field investigations, undertake remedial actions at full scale, and design pilot studies. They are responsible for producing feasibility studies, attending stakeholder meetings, creating visual and tabular environmental data briefs, and preparing proposals. Staff Environmental Scientists also organize work schedule, assist in field sampling, conduct project research as well as track scientific progress achieved.
Staff environmental scientist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real staff environmental scientist resumes:
- Develop and manage company EHS compliance processes in accordance with current and upcoming regulatory mandates.
- Perform SWPPP and SPCC studies and monitoring of client compliance.
- Utilize GIS mapping to create hundreds of maps for hazardous environmental site inspections
- Assist as health and safety compliance officer pursuant to OSHA 29 CFR 1910.
- Recognize by clients at U.S. EPA for providing exceptional results while operating under stringent deadlines.
- Use ArcMap and GIS mapping to create maps for reports and to conduct desktop research for projects.
- Respond to any psychiatric emergency throughout the units of the hospital while maintaining safety rules set forth by OSHA.
- Oversee the tribal drinking water program and annual monitoring, and participate on the national EPA tribal direct implementation workgroup.
- Perform asbestos abatement monitoring on numerous sites.
- Perform asbestos inspections, and asbestos abatement air monitoring at several sites in Missouri.
- Supervise and coach chemists in method validations and provide technical consultations for method troubleshooting and FDA recalls for global manufacture sites.
- Provide litigation and corporate advice to environmental and land use clients, focuse primarily on state and federal remediation projects.
Staff environmental scientist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Staff Environmental Scientists are proficient in OSHA, Environmental Compliance, and Technical Reports. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Problem-solving skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Staff Environmental Scientists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- OSHA, 11%
Perform training required for Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) certification, to include al associated documentation.
- Environmental Compliance, 9%
Provided general environmental compliance support to clients, including on-site assistance as needed.
- Technical Reports, 8%
Performed data collection and analysis and prepared technical reports for ecological and water resource studies.
- GIS, 6%
Served as lead GIS manager for the Columbia office and managed a GIS database for over 100 working projects.
- Environmental Site Assessments, 6%
Worked on feasibility studies, environmental investigation reports and environmental site assessments.
- Data Collection, 5%
Contributed data collection strategies and the acquisition of vendor services to project teams developing client proposals.
Common skills that a staff environmental scientist uses to do their job include "osha," "environmental compliance," and "technical reports." You can find details on the most important staff environmental scientist responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a staff environmental scientist 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, a staff environmental scientist resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "analyzed data and summarized ground water and soil results for multiple remediation projects. "
Problem-solving skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling staff environmental scientist duties is problem-solving skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "environmental scientists and specialists try to find the best possible solution to problems that affect the environment and people’s health." According to a staff environmental scientist resume, here's how staff environmental scientists can utilize problem-solving skills in their job responsibilities: "assisted epa in planning and implementing these investigations, responses and solutions. "
Communication skills. staff environmental scientists are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to staff environmental scientist responsibilities, because "environmental scientists and specialists may need to present and explain their findings to audiences of varying backgrounds and write technical reports." A staff environmental scientist resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "trained extensively in risk communications regarding environmental issues. "
The three companies that hire the most staff environmental scientists are:
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Compare different staff environmental scientists
Staff environmental scientist vs. Technical fellow
Natural Resource Specialists are usually employed in a university, conservation center, or research center. As their title suggests, they are in charge of initiatives related to natural resources. They may lead to research projects, fieldwork activities, or conferences related to natural resources' general topic or specialization. Natural resource specialists may specialize in wildlife, forestry, land management, marine life, and the environment. A lot of their tasks are dependent on their specialization. They may be assigned to manage paperwork related to permits and other important documents. They may also be assigned to monitor a specific sector in their specialization. They may also be assigned to work on conservation programs.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between staff environmental scientists and technical fellow. For instance, staff environmental scientist responsibilities require skills such as "osha," "environmental compliance," "technical reports," and "gis." Whereas a technical fellow is skilled in "sql," "statistical analysis," "intellectual property," and "photoshop." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Technical fellows really shine in the automotive industry with an average salary of $75,007. Comparatively, staff environmental scientists tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $68,356.The education levels that technical fellows earn slightly differ from staff environmental scientists. In particular, technical fellows are 8.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a staff environmental scientist. Additionally, they're 14.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff environmental scientist vs. Water quality analyst
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, staff environmental scientist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "osha," "gis," "environmental site assessments," and "data collection." Meanwhile, a water quality analyst has duties that require skills in areas such as "laboratory equipment," "laboratory procedures," "water quality samples," and "water quality analysis." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Water quality analysts tend to reach higher levels of education than staff environmental scientists. In fact, they're 5.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 14.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for staff environmental scientists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Mike Mooring Ph.D.
Professor, Point Loma Nazarene University
Staff environmental scientist vs. Natural resource specialist
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, staff environmental scientists are more likely to have skills like "osha," "environmental site assessments," "cost estimates," and "surface water." But a natural resource specialist is more likely to have skills like "management plans," "usda," "gs," and "natural resource management."
Natural resource specialists make a very good living in the professional industry with an average annual salary of $68,366. On the other hand, staff environmental scientists are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $68,356.Most natural resource specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to staff environmental scientists. For example, they're 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff environmental scientist vs. Emission specialist
Types of staff environmental scientist
Updated January 8, 2025
