Environmental Specialist
(Female, Age 29) from Frederick, MD
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 29 who works as a Environmental Specialist in Frederick, MD. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Environmental Specialist |
|---|---|
| Salary | $36,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Frederick, MD |
| Years Experience | 1.5 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Medium-sized state agency working in a number of environmental fields: tire recycling, wastewater treatment, and environmental dredging are the major foci of the agency.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I work in environmental dredging. We partner with the Maryland Port Administration in the creation of reports, meeting support, attending conferences, etc. Occasionally the job involves field work, which is usually environmental monitoring activities.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Health, dental, life insurance, 401k, (probably some others that I can’t think of right now 🙂 )
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Well, but could always use more money.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
yes. i need to interact with members of my department daily, as well as people from other state and federal agencies.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
95% office; 5% field. I really dislike sitting at the computer all day, and would much rather be split equally between the two.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 3
Benefits: 7
Hours: 4
Co-Workers: 1
Supervisors: 2
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 5
The Actual Work: 6
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
I believe it was at a job fair. (I applied for several positions here, several times. Shotgun approach!)
What was the application process?
Submitted application and resume, I believe.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. I had one interview with my supervisor’s supervisor, and another project manager. They basically asked me questions about my resume, and a few questions on how I might handle certain situations (ie: if i were assigned too much work, how would I handle it?)
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
(see one above) Also, how would my former jobs help me with this job? (that’s all i can remember…)
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Well, there was not much to prepare… it’s an entry level job, but I did feel mostly prepared.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
There was no specific training, however we are encouraged to participate in intra-agency training; classes like plant identification, wetland identification, soils, etc.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. Many years of school and biology and environmental classes made me very familiar with the topics of the reports I deal with.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
n/a
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Go to the agency’s website! Also, getting on a list serve (perhaps from the student’s college) is very useful!
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
It’s a good place for those who are more interested in project management or writing (at least in the office). So, organizational skills are good, teamwork skills are very good. Technical skills are not so much required for my particular position.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
A bachelor’s degree would probably be best.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Pay attention and learn as much as you can. Keep learning; take any training that becomes available to you, as this will show your supervisors that you are eager and motivated!
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. Although I have realized that I am not interested in project management, which is the main career path at this particular agency. So, while this was a good starting job, I most likely will not stay there for a very long time.
What are your current career goals?
Excellent question. I basically want to enjoy going to work, most of the time. I’d like to stay in the environmental field, but perhaps not in such a structured environment.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
You might need to start off in a job that you don’t love so much. Sometimes the jobs just aren’t available. BUT learn everything you can while you are there!
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Demand analyst | 6mo | 46000 | Graph maker. (I honestly did not do much at this job.) |
| Prior Job 2 | ISE specialist | 1.5 yrs | 42000 | Interface between engineers and the procurement team. Created the design tree for biological defense systems using information from approx. 5 engineers. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.8
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
2.8? | Salisbury/UMES | BAs in Biology and Environmental Sci. |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
? | Johns Hopkins University | MS Environmental Science and Policy |
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