Key Findings: UNCOVER EH

Areas where these professionals work

Food safety is the most common area. Many work in more than one area:

• Food safety and protection - 76%
• Public swimming pools - 57%
• Emergency preparedness and response - 47%
• Schools - 46%
• Onsite wastewater (septic systems) - 44%
• Private or onsite drinking water - 43%
• Hotels/motels - 39%
• Vector control - 38%
• Body art (tattoo) - 36%
• Daycare/early child development facilities - 34%

What we learned

More than 8 in 10 EH professionals are white:

• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - 1%
• American Indian - 3%
• Asian - 4%
• Black or African American - 7%
• White - 85%

6% of the EH workforce is Hispanic.

Women make up about half of the EH workforce:

• Women - 49%
• Men - 51%

The EH workforce is aging

1 in 4 EH professionals is over 55 years of age.

1 in 4 EH professionals plans to retire within 5 years.

The EH workforce is well educated

Despite the high levels of education of the workforce, professionals' degrees are not always in EH:

• Doctoral - 3%
• Master's - 30%
• Bachelor's - 62%
• Associate - 2%
• None - 3%

Only 1 in 5 bachelor's degrees is in EH.

2 in 5 EH bachelor's degrees are from academic programs accredited by the National Environmental Health Science & Protection Accreditation Council, considered the gold standard.

Credentials and position titles vary

64% have the Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) credential.

1 out of 2 EH professionals has the title Environmental Health Specialist:

• EH Specialist - 50%
• Sanitarian - 20%
• Other, varying titles - 30%

Resources

Journal article with findings on demographics, characteristics, education, practice areas, and aspects of leadership and satisfaction (free full text available courtesy of NEHA).

Visual abstracts about research needs and workforce needs within the environmental health profession.

NEHA fact sheets on salaries and use of credentials in the EH profession.