Career as a Hazardous Waste Management Professional

0 Views
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Hazardous waste professionals conduct studies on hazardous waste problems and work to provide solutions for the treatment and containment of waste. Hazardous waste professionals analyze the cost and effectiveness of various methods of disposing of hazardous wastes. They make recommendations for various ways of collecting, moving, storing, and disposing of hazardous materials. A variety of methods is used for dealing with hazardous waste, including reducing the waste, recycling, and treatment. Three promising areas of treatment include thermal treatment (incineration), which involves burning at high temperatures to destroy toxic materials; chemical treatment, which involves using a chemical process to reduce the hazard; and biological treatment, which employs microorganisms that consume the waste material.

As landfill space becomes more limited and concerns about the safety of communities around these facilities rises, new approaches to hazardous waste management must be found. At present, the United States produces around 400 million tons of hazardous waste annually, much of which, by law, cannot be placed in landfills. Because of these immediate problems, hazardous waste management is one of the fastest-growing fields in the environmental sciences.

RELATED PROFESSIONS


  • Environmental Assessment

  • Environmental Engineer

  • Chemical Engineer

  • Chemist

  • Biologist

  • Risk Manager

  • Civil Engineer

  • Hydrologist

  • Geologist

  • Health Inspector

  • Solid Waste Specialist
EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Currently few schools offer a degree in hazardous waste management; rather, most professionals hold degrees in engineering, chemistry, geology, or related fields. High school students interested in becoming solid waste specialists should have a strong background in math and science.

Approximately 170 colleges and universities offer at least one formal credit course in solid and hazardous waste management, while 89 schools have noncredit training courses. Four programs offer master's degrees in hazardous/materials management including Tufts University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Wayne State University in Detroit, and the University of San Francisco. Hazardous waste management programs tend to be multidisciplinary in nature encompassing such fields as civil/environmental engineering, chemical engineering, public/allied health, biology, chemistry, forestry, geology, and environmental science. Most of these master's programs are offered through departments of engineering.

A growing number of universities and community colleges are offering certification programs for professionals already employed or interested in the field. The University of California at Berkeley, for example, offers certificate programs in environmental site assessment and remediation, hazardous materials management, integrated solid waste management, advanced environmental law and management, air quality management, environmental health, and safety auditing. Students enrolled in hazardous materials management must take courses including such topics as principles of hazardous materials management, environmental law and regulation, and health and environmental effects of hazardous materials. Elective classes include hazardous waste minimization and management, principles of toxicology, and air pollution control systems. A growing number of community colleges also offer similar programs.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

There are no federal or state licensing requirements for solid waste specialist; however, many engineers must be certified. All 50 states and the District of Columbia require registration for engineers whose work affects life, health, or property, or who offer their services to the public. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) offers the Professional Engineer (PE) license. Attainment of the license is based upon the acquisition of a engineering degree from an ABET-approved institution, successful completion of the Engineering-in-Training examination, four years of relevant work experience, and the passage of a state examination. Licenses are generally transferable between states. Contact the ABET, listed at the end of this chapter for further information.

Professionals may work in laboratories that are clean and comfortable, in of-fices primarily writing reports and analyzing data or in the field conducting experiments and monitoring disposal practices. Most professionals work eight hours a day, five days per week. In an emergency, such as a chemical spill, they may work overtime or on weekends. The materials with which these people work can be dangerous. Some emit toxic fumes; others will bum skin and eyes; many are poisonous, while others produce radiation or can cause cancer. Few accidents occur because safety procedures are followed carefully.

SALARY STATISTICS

Salaries in this field vary depending on the job, sector, years of experience, and education. The private sector generally pays the most followed by the public and nonprofit sectors. Within the public sector, the federal government generally pays the most, followed by state and local agencies. The starting pay for hazardous waste specialists is about $21,000 per year. With three to five years of experience, specialists generally earn between $25,000 and $35,000. Engineers and individuals with master's degrees can earn substantially more.

The average starting salary for an engineer with a bachelor's degree is expected to be around $30,000, while the starting salary for master's degree holders is expected to be around $35,000, and $45,000 for Ph.D. holders. Engineers with advanced degrees can expect to earn 10 percent to 15 percent more than entry-level bachelor-degree holders.

SOURCES OF FURTHER INFORMATION
  • Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology 345 East 47th St. New York, NY 10017-2397
The board publishes a list of accredited schools of engineering throughout the country.
  • Air and Waste Management Association P.O. Box 2861 Pittsburgh, PA 15230

  • National Environmental Training Association 8687 Via de Ventura Suite 214 Scottsdale, AZ 85285

  • National Solid Waste Management Association 1730 Rhode Island Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036

  • Institute of Chemical Waste Management 1730 Rhode Island Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036

If this article has helped you in some way, will you say thanks by sharing it through a share, like, a link, or an email to someone you think would appreciate the reference.



EmploymentCrossing is great because it brings all of the jobs to one site. You don't have to go all over the place to find jobs.
Kim Bennett - Iowa,
  • All we do is research jobs.
  • Our team of researchers, programmers, and analysts find you jobs from over 1,000 career pages and other sources
  • Our members get more interviews and jobs than people who use "public job boards"
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars.
EnvironmentalCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
EnvironmentalCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists in the world.
Copyright © 2024 EnvironmentalCrossing - All rights reserved. 21