Careers

Environmental health professionals study how people interact with their environment in order to understand how the environment may positively or negatively affect human health. Knowledge of exposure to chemical, physical or biological and accompanying consequences is then used to modify practices (human or natural) to improve health and well-being.

Job Categories

Toxicologists - study individual man-made and natural chemicals and the effect of these agents on living systems in an effort to understand the mechanism of action of these chemicals on disruption of normal function within living organisms.

Epidemiologists - study factors that relate to disease causation and how disease occurs in human populations.

Air and water pollution specialists - study the anthropogenic (man-made) items that we introduce into the atmosphere and water courses in an effort to understand how to control the wastes produced and to design more sustainable practices.

Hazardous and solid waste specialists - study the production and disposal methods for everything from paper and food wastes to industrial chemicals and household cleaners.

Health educators – develop and disseminate new and better means to educate people on the need to modify their own actions for their health and the health of their environment.

Online Resources

Taken for Granted: An Alternative to the Ph.D. Track, Science Careesr Magazine, July 3, 2009

Opportunities Abound in Toxicology, Science Careers Magazine, June 20, 2008