Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 19-2041.00United States
Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or public health. Using knowledge of various scientific disciplines, may collect, synthesize, study, report, and recommend action based on data derived from measurements or observations of air, food, soil, water, and other sources.
- Median annual earnings
- $82,282
- Projected change
- +7.7%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 92.37K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
60.2% of the workforce
Growing to 99.51K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What environmental scientists and specialists, including health do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Communicate scientific or technical information to the public, organizations, or internal audiences through oral briefings, written documents, workshops, conferences, training sessions, or public hearings.
- Monitor effects of pollution or land degradation and recommend means of prevention or control.
- Collect, synthesize, analyze, manage, and report environmental data, such as pollution emission measurements, atmospheric monitoring measurements, meteorological or mineralogical information, or soil or water samples.
- Review and implement environmental technical standards, guidelines, policies, and formal regulations that meet all appropriate requirements.
- Provide scientific or technical guidance, support, coordination, or oversight to governmental agencies, environmental programs, industry, or the public.
- Process and review environmental permits, licenses, or related materials.
- Conduct environmental audits or inspections or investigations of violations.
- Provide advice on proper standards and regulations or the development of policies, strategies, or codes of practice for environmental management.
- Prepare charts or graphs from data samples, providing summary information on the environmental relevance of the data.
- Research sources of pollution to determine their effects on the environment and to develop theories or methods of pollution abatement or control.
- Supervise or train students, environmental technologists, technicians, or other related staff.
- Monitor environmental impacts of development activities.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $52,399
- 25th percentile
- $64,434
- 50th percentile
- $82,282
- 75th percentile
- $108,266
- 90th percentile
- $140,930
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $82,282 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+7.7%faster than average
202592,365 jobs
2035 projected99,507 jobs
7,142 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 60.2%
- High school diploma or less
- 21.3%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 13.8%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 4%
- Some college
- 0.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Environmental Specialists2,714 postings
- 02Environmental Scientists2,178 postings
- 03Environmental Planners626 postings
- 04Environmental Analysts350 postings
- 05Environmental Scientists/Geologists281 postings
- 06Environmental Engineers/Scientists280 postings
- 07Environmental Engineers/Scientists/Geologists229 postings
- 08Environmental Protection Specialists191 postings
- 09Environmental Services Specialists146 postings
- 10Environmental Planners/Project Managers143 postings
- 11Environmental Scientists/Specialists129 postings
- 12Environmental Technicians120 postings
- 13Project Environmental Scientists114 postings
- 14Environmental Resources Specialists112 postings
- 15Environmental Scientists/Biologists103 postings
- 16Environmental Field Scientists100 postings
- 17Environmental Engineers Specialist89 postings
- 18Environmental Consultants85 postings
- 19Environmental Scientists/Project Managers84 postings
- 20Environmental Data Analysts76 postings
Top employers
- 01State of Florida247 postings
- 02Stantec234 postings
- 03Jacobs Solutions195 postings
- 04Actalent188 postings
- 05AECOM172 postings
- 06State of California150 postings
- 07State of Minnesota127 postings
- 08WSP Global126 postings
- 09GHD124 postings
- 10Argonaut Management Services110 postings
- 11Apex Companies92 postings
- 12State of Washington91 postings
- 13The Hartford88 postings
- 14Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania86 postings
- 15Tetra Tech77 postings
- 16Enviri Industries Sdn Bhd75 postings
- 17Veolia74 postings
- 18Triumvirate Environmental73 postings
- 19Transdev72 postings
- 20Kimley-Horn68 postings
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