U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration https://www.onetonline.org 15m 3,754 #insights
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Inspect and investigate sources of pollution to protect the public and environment and ensure conformance with Federal, State, and local regulations and ordinances.
Sample of reported job titles:
Air Permitting and Enforcement Inspector, Compliance Investigator, Enforcement Officer, Environmental Compliance Inspector, Environmental Inspector, Environmental Protection Specialist, Environmental Quality Analyst, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Enforcement Officer (RCRA Enforcement Officer), Toxics Program Officer, Waste Management Specialist
Tasks
Determine the nature of code violations and actions to be taken, and issue written notices of violation, participating in enforcement hearings, as necessary.
Prepare, organize, and maintain inspection records.
Investigate complaints and suspected violations regarding illegal dumping, pollution, pesticides, product quality, or labeling laws.
Determine which sites and violation reports to investigate, and coordinate compliance and enforcement activities with other government agencies.
Interview individuals to determine the nature of suspected violations and to obtain evidence of violations.
Inform individuals and groups of pollution control regulations and inspection findings, and explain how problems can be corrected.
Verify that hazardous chemicals are handled, stored, and disposed of in accordance with regulations.
Learn and observe proper safety precautions, rules, regulations, and practices so that unsafe conditions can be recognized and proper safety protocols implemented.
Monitor follow-up actions in cases where violations were found, and review compliance monitoring reports.
Examine permits, licenses, applications, and records to ensure compliance with licensing requirements.
Prepare written, oral, tabular, and graphic reports summarizing requirements and regulations, including enforcement and chain of custody documentation.
Observe and record field conditions, gathering, interpreting, and reporting data such as flow meter readings and chemical levels.
Determine sampling locations and methods, and collect water or wastewater samples for analysis, preserving samples with appropriate containers and preservation methods.
Research and keep informed of pertinent information and developments in areas such as EPA laws and regulations.
Participate in the development of spill prevention programs and hazardous waste rules and regulations, and recommend corrective actions for hazardous waste problems.
Inspect waste pretreatment, treatment, and disposal facilities and systems for conformance to federal, state, or local regulations.
Analyze and implement state, federal or local requirements as necessary to maintain approved pretreatment, pollution prevention, and storm water runoff programs.
Evaluate label information for accuracy and conformance to regulatory requirements.
Respond to questions and inquiries, such as those concerning service charges and capacity fees, or refer them to supervisors.
Research and perform calculations related to landscape allowances, discharge volumes, production-based and alternative limits, and wastewater strength classifications, making recommendations and completing documentation.
Perform laboratory tests on samples collected, such as analyzing the content of contaminated wastewater.
Inform health professionals, property owners, and the public about harmful properties and related problems of water pollution and contaminated wastewater.
Review and evaluate applications for registration of products containing dangerous materials, or for pollution control discharge permits.
Conduct research on hazardous waste management projects to determine the magnitude of problems and treatment or disposal alternatives and costs.
Maintain and repair materials, work sites, and equipment.
Prepare data to calculate sewer service charges and capacity fees.
Technology Skills
Hot Technologies are requirements frequently included in employer job postings.
Work Activities
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Communicating with People Outside the Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Providing Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
Detailed Work Activities
Investigate legal issues.
Prepare legal or investigatory documentation.
Maintain data in information systems or databases.
Prepare regulatory or compliance documentation.
Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
Coordinate enforcement of laws or regulations.
Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
Inform individuals or organizations of status or findings.
Interview witnesses, suspects, or claimants.
Inspect facilities or equipment to ensure specifications are met.
Update professional knowledge.
Review license or permit applications.
Monitor organizational compliance with regulations.
Analyze environmental regulations to ensure organizational compliance.
Research issues related to the environment or sustainable business practices.
Update knowledge of legal or regulatory environments.
Examine product information to ensure compliance with regulations.
Correspond with customers to answer questions or resolve complaints.
Advise others on business or operational matters.
Prepare financial documents.
Establish organizational guidelines or policies.
Calculate data to inform organizational operations.
Work Context
Electronic Mail — 95% responded “Every day.”
Telephone — 95% responded “Every day.”
Face-to-Face Discussions — 75% responded “Every day.”
Contact With Others — 60% responded “Constant contact with others.”
Deal With External Customers — 50% responded “Extremely important.”
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 55% responded “Every day.”
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 50% responded “Very important.”
Structured versus Unstructured Work — 60% responded “Some freedom.”
Work With Work Group or Team — 40% responded “Extremely important.”
Freedom to Make Decisions — 80% responded “Some freedom.”
Letters and Memos — 60% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 35% responded “Every day.”
Outdoors, Exposed to Weather — 35% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
Spend Time Sitting — 63% responded “More than half the time.”
Time Pressure — 40% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Equipment — 35% responded “Every day.”
Exposed to Contaminants — 30% responded “Every day.”
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled — 30% responded “Every day.”
Duration of Typical Work Week — 70% responded “40 hours.”
Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 30% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 50% responded “Important results.”
Coordinate or Lead Others — 35% responded “Important.”
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 35% responded “Very important.”
Physical Proximity — 45% responded “Moderately close (at arm’s length).”
Frequency of Decision Making — 37% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
Outdoors, Under Cover — 40% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
Frequency of Conflict Situations — 35% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
Job Zone
- Title
- Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor’s degree, but some do not.
- Related Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
- Job Training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
- Job Zone Examples
- Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, conservation scientists, art directors, and cost estimators.
- SVP Range
- 2-4 years of preparation (7.0 to < 8.0)
Training & Credentials
- State training
- Local training
- Certifications
- State licenses
- Apprenticeships
- Have a career path or location in mind? Visit Apprenticeship.gov
external site to find apprenticeship opportunities near you.
Skills
Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Operations Monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.
Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Time Management — Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Knowledge
English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Chemistry — Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Education
How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:
- responded:
Bachelor’s degree required - responded:
Associate’s degree required
Abilities
Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Visualization — The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Interests
Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Work Values
Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Work Styles
Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Independence — Job requires developing one’s own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others’ needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Social Orientation — Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Wages & Employment Trends
Median wage data for Compliance Officers.
Employment data for Compliance Officers.
Industry data for Compliance Officers.
- Median wages (2021)
- $34.45 hourly, $71,650 annual
- State wages
- Local wages
- Employment (2020)
- 348,700 employees
- Projected growth (2020-2030)
Average (5% to 10%)- Projected job openings (2020-2030)
- 30,000
- State trends
- Top industries (2020)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2021 wage data
external site and 2020-2030 employment projections
external site.
“Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2020-2030). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.
Job Openings on the Web
- State job openings
- Local job openings
Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
Actively assisted with the O*NET data collection, helping to identify occupational experts who can be surveyed about their work in the occupation.
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