Environmental Health and Safety Specialists
Main Topic: Environment and Society
Secondary Topic: Physical Geography
Overview: Environmental health and safety specialists are a type of environmental specialists that study the effects of environmental factors on human health. In general, environmental specialists use their knowledge to protect the environment and human health through collecting environmental data, analyzing samples, develop plans fix environmental problems, give guidance about environmental hazards or health risks, and prepare reports on their analysis. Environmental health and safety specialists may investigate issues in soil and water contamination around manufacturing. They will educate the public about health risks due to environmental contamination and pollution. Geographers are suited to this job because of their focus on the interaction between humans and their environment. These specialists will tend to work for consulting services or government agencies. Due to increasing interest in the environment this field will continue to grow in the future.
Geographers at work: Environmental geographers, Physical geographers, Health geographers
Recommended College Courses: Introduction to Physical Geography, Environmental Management, Introduction in Environmental Geography, Natural Resource Use and Management, Water Resources, Air Quality Management, Climatology, Urban Geography, Environmental Hazards, Water Policy, Maps and Mapmaking
Skills: Environmental Mapping and modeling, GIS and remote sensing, Geospatial technology, Field methods
Occupation Group: Life, Physical, and Social Science
Learn more about Environmental Health and Safety Specialists from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/environmental-scientists-and-specialists.htm#tab-2
Written by Alisa Hartsell