Environmental Science & Protection Technicians, Including Health

Also Called:

Environmental Health Officer (EHO),

Environmental Technician (Environmental Tech),

Sanitarian,

Soil Lab Technician (Soil Laboratory Technician)

What they do: Perform laboratory and field tests to monitor the environment and investigate sources of pollution, including those that affect health, under the direction of an environmental scientist, engineer, or other specialist. May collect samples of gases, soil, water, and other materials for testing.

Energy & Natural Resources, Public Service & Safety icon

Energy & Natural Resources, Public Service & Safety

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Collect samples of gases, soils, water, industrial wastewater, or asbestos products to conduct tests on pollutant levels or identify sources of pollution.
  • Investigate hazardous conditions or spills or outbreaks of disease or food poisoning, collecting samples for analysis.
  • Record test data and prepare reports, summaries, or charts that interpret test results.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Cautiousness

Integrity

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Intellectual Curiosity

Adaptability

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Investigative

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Conventional

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • Use rules to solve problems

  • Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

Math

  • Add, subtract, multiply, or divide

  • Choose the right type of math to solve a problem

Visual Understanding

  • See hidden patterns

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Reading work related information

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Environmental Science & Protection Technicians, Including Health jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop