How To Become An Environmental Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is an environmental inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Environmental inspectors, sometimes called environmental compliance inspectors, make sure that companies are following environmental laws and protection standards. They usually work for government agencies and conduct regular audits to make sure that companies are following laws around safe waste disposal and resource use.

During their inspections, environmental inspectors collect and test samples and install machinery that automatically tests facilities such as drainage systems. When they're not in the field, environmental inspectors take care of administrative tasks such as checking company permits and writing reports about their findings. They usually need an extensive background in studying the environment and excellent organizational and communication skills to get to the bottom of potential environmental regulation violations.

Most environmental inspectors have a bachelor's degree in environmental science. However, it is possible to do this job with only a high school diploma and some practical experience. Environmental inspectors earn an average salary of $51,444 a year. However, before they can work as environmental inspectors they usually need some professional experience in manufacturing and compliance, for example as utility inspectors.

ScoreEnvironmental InspectorUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,952

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.3

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.84%

Asian 8.37%

Black or African American 10.39%

Hispanic or Latino 16.06%

Unknown 4.48%

White 59.85%

Gender

female 18.45%

male 81.55%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.0

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.7

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an environmental inspector

Explore environmental inspector education requirements

Most common environmental inspector degrees

Bachelor's

70.6 %

Associate

10.4 %

Master's

10.1 %

Start to develop specific environmental inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Environmental Compliance	12.35%
SWPPP	5.64%
State Regulations	4.84%
Pipeline Construction	4.40%
GPS	3.66%

Complete relevant environmental inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmental inspectors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an environmental inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental inspector resumes.

Research environmental inspector duties and responsibilities

Manage environmental team, implement SWPPP.
Perform fit test, EPA regulate air sampling, training and scheduling and manage HealthRX database.
Provide EHS regulatory compliance services to several federal government clients and manage hazardous waste documentation databases.
Ensure compliance with NPDES, SWPPP, and SPPC.

Prepare your environmental inspector resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental inspector resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an environmental inspector resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Environmental Inspector Resume templates

Build a professional Environmental Inspector resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Environmental Inspector resume.

Apply for environmental inspector jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an environmental inspector job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do environmental inspectors rate their job?

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Environmental Inspector reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Pros

environmental Impacts accuracy and quality of classification processes handled by their team. Impacts team, partner teams and Process Experts.