How to become an Environmental Scientist: education, training and skills.
What workers in the job actually report about their education, experience and training, the skills to build first, and the stepping-stone roles that lead in.
- 47% Bachelor's Degree
- 14% Master's Degree
- 13% Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
- 4% Doctoral Degree
Not shown: answers with low-precision O*NET estimates, so these shares do not add to 100%.
BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for workers in the BLS occupation “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” in the United States (Employment Projections, 2025–35). Among environmental scientists surveyed by O*NET, 47% report needing a bachelor's degree, the most common answer. O*NET places the job in Job Zone 4 of 5 (considerable preparation). The most common answer for on-the-job training was “over 1 year, up to and including 2 years” (35%).
Data Government data groups this job as Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health (O*NET-SOC 19-2041.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.
What BLS lists for workers in the BLS occupation “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health”
According to BLS 2025–35 projections data, workers in the BLS occupation “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” in the United States typically need no work experience in a related occupation to enter the occupation.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
Once hired, workers in the BLS occupation “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” in the United States typically need no on-the-job training to become fully competent, according to BLS 2025–35 projections data.
Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35
Six steps to becoming an Environmental Scientist
Data Steps 1 to 5 summarise BLS and O*NET data for the role; step 6 is advice.
- EducationPlan for a bachelor's degree
BLS typical entry-level education, 2025–35 projections. In O*NET's worker survey, 47% report a bachelor's degree.
- TrainingExpect on-the-job training
Most common: over 1 year, up to and including 2 years.
- ExperienceRelated experience
O*NET's estimates are too imprecise to name a most common answer.
- SkillsBuild the core skills
Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening are rated most important.
- ToolsLearn the tools
ESRI ArcGIS software, Geographic information system GIS systems, Adobe Illustrator.
- CredentialsCheck licensing where you live
Many occupations need a state license or certification. Requirements vary by state, so confirm with your state's licensing board.
What workers report
Data Share of workers giving each answer, O*NET.
Answers with low-precision O*NET estimates are not shown, so a card's shares can add to less than 100%.
Answers with low-precision O*NET estimates are not shown, so a card's shares can add to less than 100%.
O*NET Job Zone 4 (Considerable Preparation Needed): 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.
Related roles that need less preparation
Data O*NET related occupations in a lower Job Zone with a skill match of 65% or more.
Data Pay once you are in the job: the BLS median is $82,220; the lowest-paid quarter earn $64,490 or less. See the full Environmental Scientist salary data.
How this page is built
Education, experience, training and Job Zone come from O*NET 31.0 survey data for the occupation. The typical entry-level education, work experience and on-the-job training lines come from BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35. O*NET answers with low-precision estimates are not shown, and an answer is called the most common only when no hidden answer could be larger. Stepping-stone roles use our skill-match score: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- Licensing rules in your state.
- Requirements at a specific employer.
- How long the path will take you personally.
BLS typical entry-level education: a bachelor's degree
Not shown: answers with low-precision O*NET estimates, so these shares do not add to 100%.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.