Environmental Health and Safety Officers

Background

The services take great care to ensure safe working conditions and a clean environment. A clean, safe, and healthy environment results in happier employees and better work. Environmental health and safety officers direct programs to control safety and health hazards in the work place. Environmental health and safety officers study the air, ground, and water to identify and analyze sources of pollution and its effects. 

What They Do

Environmental health and safety officers in the military perform some or all of the following duties:

• Analyze data to identify pollution problem areas
• Conduct health education programs
• Determine methods to collect environmental data for research projects and surveys
• Develop pollution control plans and policies
• Inspect food samples to detect any spoilage or disease
• Work with civilian public health officials in performing studies and analyzing results

Physical Demands

No information available.

Special Requirements

A four-year college degree is normally required to enter this career. A degree in biomedical or biological science is required to enter some specialties in this career.

Helpful Attributes

Helpful attributes include:

• Interest in conducting research or analytical studies
• Interest in protecting the environment
• Interest in work requiring accuracy and attention to detail

Helpful School Subjects

No information available.

Helpful Fields of Study

Helpful fields of study include:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Civil engineering
• Environmental science
• Soil science
• Veterinary science

Work Environment

Environmental health and safety officers normally work in offices or research laboratories. They work outdoors while conducting environmental studies and surveys or inspecting facilities.

Services offering this career:

• Air Force
• Army
• Coast Guard
• Marine Corps
• Navy

Hiring Practices

To serve in the military, a person must be at least 17; the maximum age for enlistment varies. To enlist, a person must pass a physical exam and an aptitude test. An enlistee must also meet military standards of discipline and be a US citizen or permanent resident alien.

This position is for officers.

Wages

The military is competitive with the civilian world when it comes to pay and benefits. All branches offer the same basic pay and benefits.

Pay depends mainly on rank or grade as well as length of service. Bonuses and the situation in which the person is serving (for example: flight duty, sea duty, hazardous duty) also affect pay. 

Cost-of-living increases usually occur every year, based on inflation. The military also pays allowances for food, clothing, and housing. All these factors combined are called Regular Military Compensation (RMC). They should all be considered when comparing military pay to civilian pay.

There are two main parts to RMC: basic pay and allowances. There are also additional incentives for special abilities, training, or hazardous duty.

Check out the RMC Calculator to calculate your RMC based on your inputs.

Training Provided

No initial job training is provided to officers in this career.

Civilian Counterparts

Civilian environmental health and safety officers work for engineering firms, manufacturing firms, and government agencies. They perform duties similar to those performed by military environmental health and safety officers. Depending on their specialty, they may be called environmental scientists, air pollution analysts, soil analysts, industrial hygienists, or water quality analysts.

Related Civilian Careers

• Biomedical Engineers
• Compliance Officers and Inspectors
• Environmental Engineers
• Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
• Public Health Educators

Employment and Outlook

In peace time the services have about 1,300 environmental health and safety officers. In times of military action the number may be different, depending on the type of specialties required. Each year the services need new health and safety officers due to changes in personnel and the demands of the field. Positions for environmental health and safety officers in the Coast Guard are filled by US Public Health Service officers. New environmental health and safety officers are assigned to environmental health teams. After demonstrating leadership qualities, they may advance to senior management or command positions.