u/primeshrimp

Hi all,

I've been interested in moving into IH after working in academic biological research for about 5 years. I want to break into the career now rather than later, and have been interviewing for some entry-level positions. Though I haven't had the most success, I've been able to get a few interviews with some consulting firms or state government orgs. The jobs mainly seem to be that of an IH tech performing field surveys for asbestos/lead/mold and IAQ monitoring, filling out reports, and maintaining equipment, all while travelling as needed.

I think this would be a good first step for me as I develop my skills and narrow my exact interest in IH (I'm thinking of practicing as an IH for a university or biotech lab). I did have a few questions regarding this path into becoming a CIH (main goal) and wanted to get some opinions on this trajectory:

• Would this type of work qualify for working towards the 48-month requirement for CIH testing eligibility (says I need to work with two types of hazard categories, so I think I should be good with Asbestos and Mold)?

• To those who've worked as techs, how was the experience?

• I am interested in pursuing a master's. Aside from cutting off 1 year for the CIH test eligibility, do you think there is value in obtaining one?

• Advice to early career individuals?

I'd appreciate any insight or questions I should ask myself in considering this path. I've already talked to 5 practicing IHs and they seem to enjoy and recommend this career, but I'm always trying to gather more perspectives!

I quit my PhD program after a year due to somewhat poor experience and realizing I didn't want to follow the career trajectory it put me on.

My previous supervisor, with whom I worked for about 4 years, encouraged me to apply for a PhD (I was initially just thinking a masters) and acted as a strong reference for me. Now I am applying for jobs and would likely benefit from having him as one of my references, but feel pretty ashamed and embarrassed to ask him. He will likely support me and I know I should just ask him, but I can't help but feel so awkward about it. Any advice? Has anyone gone through something similar? Thanks!

Hi everyone.

I am at a point in my career where I am no longer interested in pursuing a research role. I have over 4 years of experience working as a technician across 2 academic labs in biological research. Though I find the day-to-day of working in a lab decently fun (though there are days when I absolutely loathe it), I don't foresee myself doing this for the rest of my life. I am not interested in pursuing a graduate degree (unless I can get a funded master's, definitely not interested in a PhD).

Have any techs/RAs with just a B.S. pivoted to a different career path they enjoy? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Some info:

• My computational skills are weak, though I am learning data analysis through Python and plan to pick up SQL. (I have coded in the past through a previous interest in web design and several coding classes from undegrad, so it's not completely foreign to me).

• I enjoyed analyzing the data I generated and preparing visualizations to "tell the story" of the research I was working on.

• I enjoyed the technical aspect of the job, like learning new techniques or instruments. Troubleshooting was frustrating but rewarding.

• I didn't enjoy combing through the literature to try to think of new ideas to take the research. I always found it hard to sit down and read scientific literature, and despised lit reviews. I didn't mind manuscript writing though (I first authored 1 paper and assisted with several others).

• I have a public health degree. Based in the US. Ideally, something that pays decently (academic tech wages ain't it).

I have looked in technical marketing, some public health roles, and lab project management roles. Epi sounds interesting to me, but I hear the market for it is horrible right now (as is with a lot of public health). Appreciate any insight that people can offer or strategies they used to help themselves figure out a new direction. Thanks!

I would like insight into what to expect in a second-round interview and how to best prepare for it for the position of Environmental Health Specialist Trainee/1. A lot of the posts I've seen here seem to be for the initial interview, which I already had several weeks ago.

The email I received states I have been selected for a "department-level interview", which is expected to be about 25 minutes (same as my initial interview). My initial interview was with EHS II's and III's. Should I expect to be interviewing with division managers or the director? What kind of questions would they likely be asking?

Would appreciate any information to help me out. I really want the job!