| Name | Acronym | Issuing Organization | Type | Subject Area | Minimum Degree Needed | Relevant Experienced Needed | Other Requirements | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Engineer | PE | A state licensing board | License | Engineering | Typically, a Bachelors in engineering from an ABET-accredited program (varies by state) | Usually about 4 years under supervision of a PE (varies by state) | Pass 2 exams | $113,000 (2018) |
| Professional Geologist | PG | A state licensing board (not in all states) | License (some states do not have a PG license) | Geology | Typically, a Bachelors in geology or related field (varies by state) | Around 4 to 8 years under supervision (varies by state) | Pass an exam | $92,040 (2019) |
| Professional Landscape Architect | PLA | A state licensing board | License | Landscape Architecture | Typically, a Bachelors or Masters in landscape architecture (varies by state) | Around 1 to 7 years under supervision of a PE or PLA (varies by state) | Pass an exam | $69,360 (2019) |
| ASTM E1527-13 Environmental Professional | EP | No formal issuing process | Qualification (Allows EP to supervise Phase I ESAs) | Environmental Site Assessment | None, but less experience needed with science degree | 5 years with related science degree, 10 years with no degree | None | Data Not Available |
| Certified Safety Professional | CSP | Board of Certified Safety Professionals | Certification | Environmental, Health, and Safety | Bachelors | 4 years | Pass an exam | $110,000 (2018) |
| Certified Industrial Hygienist | CIH | Board for Global EHS Credentialing | Certification | Environmental, Health, and Safety | Bachelors in science, industrial hygiene, safety, or 60 semester hours of STEM coursework | 4 years relevant | Academic contact hours or continuing education hours, and pass an exam | $119,800 (2018) |
| Certified Hazardous Materials Manager | CHMM | Institute of Hazardous Materials Management | Certification | Environmental, Health, and Safety | Bachelors | 4 years | Pass an exam | $112,000 (2018) |
| Registered Environmental Health Specialist/ Registered Sanitarian | REHS/RS | National Environmental Health Association | Certification | Environmental Health | Bachelors or higher with 30 semester hours of science coursework and a math class | 2 years, but there is no experience requirement for those with a degree in environmental health | Pass an exam | About $55,000-$85,000 (2020) |
| Registered Environmental Manager | REM | National Registry of Environmental Professionals | Certification | Environmental Management | Bachelors in an environmentally-related discipline | 5 years, or up to 12 years in lieu of a Bachelors | Pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Certified Environmental Professional | CEP | Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals | Certification | General | Bachelors | 9 years | Pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Qualified Environmental Professional | QEP | Board for Global EHS Credentialing | Certification | General | Bachelors | 5 years, or 8 years with an unrelated degree | Pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Professional Wetland Scientist | PWS | Society of Wetland Scientists | Certification | Wetlands | Bachelors, with 15 semester hours each in biological and physical sciences, and 6 semester hours in quantitative sciences | 5 years | 15 semester hours (or equivalent in continuing education courses) in specialized wetland course work | Data Not Available |
| Certified Professional Soil Scientist | CPSS | Soil Science Society of America | Certification | Soil Science | Bachelors in soils or related field | 5 years | Pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Certified Wildlife Biologist | CWB | The Wildlife Society | Certification | Wildlife Biology | Bachelors, with 78 semester hours in various subject relating to wildlife biology | 5 years | None | Data Not Available |
| Certified Ecologist | CE | Ecological Society of America | Certification | Ecology | Bachelors or higher in ecology or related science, with 30 semester hours in biology (with 9 in ecology) and 12 semester hours in physical sciences and math | 5 years with Bachelors, 2 years with Masters | None | Data Not Available |
| ISA Certified Arborist | – | International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) | Certification | Arboriculture | None, but can get a reduced experience requirement with a degree and/or relevant training | 3 years | Pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Certified Forster | CF | Society of American Foresters (SAF) | Certification | Forestry | A Bachelors or higher in forestry or related field, with 56 semester hours in forestry-related coursework | 5 years | Pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Certified Professional in Erosion & Sediment Control | CPESC | EnviroCert International | Certification | Stormwater Management | High school diploma, but less experience with degree | 7 years, but only 3 years with a relevant Bachelors | Pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Certified Floodplain Manager | CFM | Association of State Floodplain Managers | Certification | Floodplains | None (degree recommended) | None (2 years recommended, if no degree) | Pass an exam | $45,001-$55,000 (2016) |
| American Institute of Certified Planners | AICP | American Planning Association | Certification | Planning | None, but less experience needed with degree | 8 years, but 4 years with a Bachelors, 3 years with a Bachelors in planning, and only 2 years with a graduate degree from an accredited program | Pass an exam | $85,000 (2018) |
| Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Professional | GISP | GIS Certification Institute | Certification | GIS | None | 4 years | Pass an exam | $76,632 (2017) |
| Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional | LEED AP | U.S. Green Building Council | Certification | Sustainability | None | None | Pass an exam, and already hold a LEED Green Associate credential (a previous exam) | Data Not Available |
| Envision Sustainability Professional | ENV SP | Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure | Certification | Sustainability | None | None | Take a training and pass an exam | Data Not Available |
| Project Management Professional | PMP | Project Management Institute | Certification | Project Management | High school diploma, but less experience needed with a degree | 5 years, or 3 years with a Bachelors | 35 hours of project management training and pass an exam | $120,000 (2020) |
Are you looking for entry level certifications that require little to no experience? I’ve compiled a list of those as well.
Environmental Certifications: Who Gives Them, Who Gets Them, and Who Cares
Some certifications can be a golden ticket, while some aren’t worth the hefty certification fees and testing costs. It can be hard to keep track of all of the acronyms and organizations. But they wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t at least some demand for them between employers, clients, and individuals. I’m not here to tell you in this post if a certain credential would be right for you. However, at the beginning of my career, I had no idea about many of these certifications. Certain ones require you to have specific classes or degrees, and it can be hard make up for that later if you do not take a certain course of study in college. If you want to work in specific fields like engineering, soils, or wildlife biology, it would benefit your career to know about accompanying certifications early on. I’ve assembled the table above as a guide to some of the most popular professional licenses and certifications related to the environmental field. Hopefully, you will be able to peruse it and realize certain career goals, or simply just have a better understanding of the acronyms in the industry.
However, I’m certainly no expert on credentials. To be honest, I have no letters after my name. You don’t necessarily need them to have a successful career, though certain ones have value and can make you extremely in demand. Licenses, like a Professional Engineer (PE) or Professional Geologist (PG) license, enable you to do things that unlicensed coworkers cannot legally do. Thus, licenses are generally far more valuable than certifications, and that’s why I’ve included information about them in this post. If you want to do any work related to engineering (PE) or geology (PG), your career will benefit greatly from getting these licenses. I’ve spent most of my career doing environmental work in civil engineering firms, and while a couple unlicensed environmental staff manage to squeeze into leadership positions, leadership is dominated by PEs. This makes sense, because these firms typically earn most of their profits on design and construction work, not environmental work. Nevertheless, it’s something to keep in mind if you have your sights set on higher level positions in these types of firms. Also, if you’re interested in environmental remediation, hydrology, or other topics heavily related to geology and engineering, senior positions in those fields will largely be composed of PGs and PEs. This is where graduates with degrees in environmental science, or other general environmental degrees, can run into issues. So many environmental science graduates are interested in these fields, yet their degree could prevent them from getting promoted. If you have your career goals figured out in college, make sure your degree will get you where you want to go. But don’t despair too much if you are one of these environmental science graduates, there are always exceptions and there are a variety of ways to participate in these fields.
I also want to briefly discuss certifications, which are numerous and vary in worth. In the table above, I list salary information from the issuing organizations when available in an attempt to characterize their benefits and to allow a level of comparison. Certifications can be of particular importance for consultants, because it not only makes you more attractive to consulting firms, but also to a firm’s clients. Many employers will pay for costs associated with relevant certifications, and that is always worth exploring if you are currently employed.
Based on my experience, I can ascribe great value to certifications such as CSP, CIH, CHMM, and PWS. They show that you have a level of expertise in an in-demand field, and salaries will reflect that. Other certifications, such as AICP, CWB, CPSS, SAF Certified Forester, ISA Certified Arborist, and REHS/RS seem to be well-respected in their niches, but don’t necessarily demand the most lucrative careers. More general certifications, such as REM, CEP, and QEP, have less defined value in my opinion, yet can still create some level of recognition for your education, experience, and knowledge.
If you are interested in an environmental certification, explore its value on your own. Ask people within your professional network what they think of a certification. Find someone on LinkedIn with the certification you want to pursue and ask them about its value. Everyone’s situation is different, and the value of a certification will vary widely based on your position and background.
Disclaimer: the purpose of the table is purely for quick reference and to show you what kind of certifications are out there. If you are seriously interested in pursuing a certain license or certification, conduct your own due diligence and review the application materials provided by the issuing organization. I’ve summarized the requirements for easier reading and organization, but I am not an authority on any of these licenses or certifications. The wording of requirements has been simplified. Additionally, reference letters, fees, experience summaries, and other requirements are not addressed in the table. Furthermore, eligibility requirements can and do change, so visit the issuing organization’s website for the latest information.
Moreover, I’ve included the ASTM E1527-13 Environmental Professional (EP) qualification in the table. It is an important career milestone for those of us involved in Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), though not a certification per say. For those of you not aware, being an EP allows you to independently conduct Phase I ESAs. These ESAs are a bread-and-butter service for many environmental consultants. This qualification is based on education and experience, like many certifications and licenses.