Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Environmental engineer to hazardous materials inspector

An environmental engineer already meets 37% of what the hazardous materials inspector role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From environmental engineer
37 % overlap
Distant match
To hazardous materials inspector
12 You already bring
10 Still to learn
39 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

64.8/ 100

1 How much of what a hazardous materials inspector is expected to do is already part of an environmental engineer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the hazardous materials inspector role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A hazardous materials inspector role treats 8 of its required skills as things an environmental engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on waste management procedures
  • develop hazardous waste management strategies
  • ensure material compliance
  • hazardous waste storage
  • hazardous waste treatment
  • hazardous waste types

What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A hazardous materials inspector role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an environmental engineer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held inspect compliance with hazardous waste regulations information skills
  • already held ensure material compliance information skills
  • already held develop hazardous waste management strategies management skills
  • already held hazardous waste treatment services
  • already held hazardous waste types services
  • already held carry out environmental audits assisting and caring

All 12 carried skills, including the 8 the hazardous materials inspector role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 27 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 assisting and caring 4 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn ensure appropriate packaging of dangerous goods required
  • still to learn revise certifications for dangerous good transportation required
  • still to learn ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations required
  • still to learn implement environmental protection measures required
  • optional, not held issue licences optional
  • optional, not held select hazard control optional
  • optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
02 services 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn hazardous materials transportation required
  • still to learn waste and scrap products required
  • still to learn waste management required
  • optional, not held hazardous freight regulations optional
  • optional, not held hazards associated with loading dangerous goods optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn advise on chemical use reduction required
  • optional, not held educate on hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held educate on recycling regulations optional
  • optional, not held train staff on waste management optional
  • optional, not held educate on emergency management optional
  • optional, not held train staff on recycling programs optional
04 information skills 1 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn perform risk analysis required
  • optional, not held inspect hazardous freight in accordance with regulations optional
  • optional, not held monitor legislation developments optional
  • optional, not held test safety strategies optional
05 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required
  • still to learn radioactive contamination required
06 business, administration and law 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held import export regulations of dangerous chemicals optional
  • optional, not held waste transport legislation optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a hazardous materials inspector role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 12 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advise on waste management procedures skill
  • already held develop hazardous waste management strategies skill
  • already held ensure material compliance skill
  • already held hazardous waste storage knowledge
  • already held hazardous waste treatment knowledge
  • already held hazardous waste types knowledge
  • already held inspect compliance with hazardous waste regulations skill
  • already held pollution prevention knowledge
  • already held advise on pollution prevention skill
  • already held carry out environmental audits skill
  • already held pollution legislation knowledge
  • already held radiation protection knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 management skills 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held develop contingency plans for emergencies optional
  • optional, not held develop recycling programs optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held develop contingency plans for emergencies optional
  • optional, not held develop recycling programs optional
  • optional, not held educate on hazardous waste optional
  • optional, not held educate on recycling regulations optional
  • optional, not held hazardous freight regulations optional
  • optional, not held import export regulations of dangerous chemicals optional
  • optional, not held inspect hazardous freight in accordance with regulations optional
  • optional, not held train staff on waste management optional
  • optional, not held educate on emergency management optional
  • optional, not held hazards associated with loading dangerous goods optional
  • optional, not held issue licences optional
  • optional, not held monitor legislation developments optional
  • optional, not held select hazard control optional
  • optional, not held test safety strategies optional
  • optional, not held train staff on recycling programs optional
  • optional, not held waste transport legislation optional
  • optional, not held wear appropriate protective gear optional
71 held skills the hazardous materials inspector role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role Internet of Things knowledge
  • not needed by the target role abide by regulations on banned materials skill
  • not needed by the target role address public health issues skill
  • not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on environmental remediation skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on mining environmental issues skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse big data skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse energy consumption skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse environmental data skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse information processes skill
  • not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
  • not needed by the target role assess the life cycle of resources skill
  • not needed by the target role augmented reality knowledge
  • not needed by the target role biology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role business intelligence knowledge
  • not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role circular economy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role civil engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cloud technologies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role coastal management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collect samples for analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct environmental surveys skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct field work skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct quality control analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct quantitative research skill
  • not needed by the target role consumer protection knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cyber security knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
  • not needed by the target role design strategies for nuclear emergencies skill
  • not needed by the target role develop environmental remediation strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role develop non-hazardous waste management strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role ecosystem management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role energy efficiency knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
  • not needed by the target role environmental design knowledge
  • not needed by the target role environmental engineering knowledge
  • not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge

31 further entries not listed here

8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn hazardous materials transportation required
  • still to learn radioactive contamination required
  • still to learn waste and scrap products required
  • still to learn waste management required
  • optional, not held hazardous freight regulations optional
  • optional, not held import export regulations of dangerous chemicals optional
  • optional, not held hazards associated with loading dangerous goods optional
  • optional, not held waste transport legislation optional
Index

Other moves recorded from environmental engineer

Full index of moves from environmental engineer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an environmental engineer become a hazardous materials inspector?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An environmental engineer already covers 37% of what a hazardous materials inspector is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 8 of which the hazardous materials inspector role treats as required.

What skills does an environmental engineer need to become a hazardous materials inspector?

10 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is ensure appropriate packaging of dangerous goods.

How hard is the move from environmental engineer to hazardous materials inspector?

Its learning distance is 64.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.