Environmental Health Officer

Typical Salary

£25,000 To £60,000

Typical Hours

35 to 40 a week

evenings / weekends on a rota

How To Become a Environmental Health Officer

You can get into this job through:

a university course
an apprenticeship
working towards this role

College / University

You can study for a degree or postgraduate qualification approved by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

Apprenticeship

You can do an environmental health practitioner degree apprenticeship.

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Routes into this Career

You may be able to start as an environmental health technician and study for a part-time environmental health degree while you're working.

You'll also need to produce a portfolio of work for assessment and pass professional exams including an interview to qualify.

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

to be thorough and pay attention to detail
thinking and reasoning skills
excellent verbal communication skills
legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
analytical thinking skills
knowledge of English language
maths knowledge
patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

In your day-to-day duties you may:

inspect businesses for health and safety, food hygiene and food standards
follow up complaints and investigate outbreaks of food poisoning, infectious disease or pests
collect samples for laboratory testing
enforce environmental health laws
investigate accidents at work
advise community groups and give educational talks
give evidence in court
write records and reports
advise employers on all environmental health matters

Working Environment

You could work at a restaurant, at a client's business, at a store, in a court or in an office.

Your working environment may be dirty and you'll travel often.

You may need to wear protective clothing.

Career Path & Progression

With experience you could apply for Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner status.

In local government you could progress to senior, principal or chief environmental health officer. You could also become a university lecturer.

Volunteering Opportunities

Volunteering Opportunities are not listed for this job.

Tips & Information

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health for professional development opportunities.

Further information

You can find more details about training and working in environmental health through the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

Restrictions & Requirements

You're likely to need a full, clean driving licence for this job.