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Environment Health Advocate Career

Environmental Health Advocate Job Description

An environmental health advocate is a public health official who identifies potential dangers and perils to community health, increases knowledge and consciousness about the condition, and gives people facts that are necessary to take care of their health.

Environmental health advocates co-work with healthcare personnel to create health care strategies, which they endorse through regional, state and national consciousness and alertness campaigns.

Environmental health advocates help increase awareness about the hazardous effects of smoking, excessive consumption of trans fats and not putting on the seat belts. As soon as new health threats surface, they try to decrease fear and over-reaction among the public by providing people with the facts necessary to cut down their risk.

Environmental Health Advocate Skills/Duties

Environmental health advocates chief duty is to bring about awareness among the people. They establish dangers and risks associated with health and make known the facts about the particular condition and how to protect oneself from it.

They teach pregnant women about appropriate pre natal care, hand out mosquito nets to protect from malaria, and immunize children against various avoidable ailments and illnesses.

They may be specialists in communicable diseases, statistics, epidemiology or communication. The following come within their domain of work: environmental associated diseases like food borne or water borne disease; emerging threats like the West Nile Virus, MRSA, bird flu, etc.; complicated public health issues like health / medical disorders and conditions that haven’t been convincingly related to definite environmental factors, and areas where a dispute about suitable public health policy is unending.

An environmental health advocate works about 40 hours in a week, though, over-time and weekend work hours may be required; more so, if any ‘new’ public health threat surfaces.

Primarily, an environment health advocate works in an office, assessing information and creating response strategies. He may need to travel in order to participate / attend meetings or make presentations.

Environmental health advocates operate for local, state and federal government facilities, consulting firms and non-profit agencies. They may concentrate on a particular health area, or on a limited aspect of the advocacy process, i.e. from evaluating research to managing the statistics to creating public health movements.

An environmental health advocate works with diverse kinds of people and reports his findings, thus, good written and oral communication skills are very important. He must also have an acute sense to detail and be very observant. Work can be fast paced, with tight schedules and deadlines and numerous pressures.

Environmental Health Advocate Education and Training

• In high school, you must take courses in life sciences, math, physical sciences and English.

• Try to look for opportunities and occasions to volunteer for organizations that promote public health awareness.

• In college, you must major in biology, chemistry, environmental engineering or some other scientific specialty.

• You should get yourself enrolled at summer programs / workshops / internships that focus on public health awareness, increased consciousness and education.

• You need to acquire a 4 year college degree with scientific or communications major.

• A few states provide certification for Environmental Health Advocates who have attained the specific degree of work experience and have passed the exam.

• Some students may also opt for a master’s degree in environmental health science.

Environmental Health Advocate Job Outlook

Job opportunities for Environmental Health Advocates look good and are estimated to increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Environmental Health Advocate Salary

An Environmental Health Advocate earns on an average about $45,000 - $110,000 per year. The salary, however, depends on your qualification, experience and the set up where you work.