Synergist - June/July 2011

Voices of Tomorrow
Life after Graduation

BY WILLIAM CYRS AND KERRY KRAUSE

You’re about to embark on a wonderful career in industrial hygiene, but the in-tricacies of transitioning from the educational setting are making your head spin. As recent graduates, we’re happy to provide some advice and encouragement.

Hopefully throughout your tenure as a student, you were thinking about the type of IH professional you want to become and whether you’d like to work in the academic, government, consulting, or corporate IH sectors. You say you thought about these choices, and reached no conclusion? Not a problem. Choosing an appropriate career path is perhaps the greatest concern of recent graduates, but the fact of the matter is that countless paths can be taken to achieve career goals. Just because you might start out by working in what seems to be a “dirty job” doesn’t mean that you can’t progress into a better position. Many of the most successful IHs initially worked in jobs that were less than desirable. Part of the reason these professionals became so accomplished, however, is that they viewed these early positions as opportunities to learn rudimentary skills that likely proved invaluable in the later stages of their careers.

Find a Mentor

Mentorship is a useful resource for the newly minted IH professional. Possible mentors include former professors, college alumni, and even people you meet at a conference.

While a lucky young professional may have a mentor at the same company or institution who can provide direction in the face of career uncertainty, mentors can also be found within the broader network of health and safety professionals

(hint: think AIHA®). The wonderful thing about IHs is that we love to share our early experiences with those who are new to the field. Even if potential mentors hardly remember you, most of them will no doubt be flattered that you consider their advice worthwhile. Their insight may often be more valuable to you than textbook knowledge.

Learn from Workers While having a mentor can be a cornerstone of moving in a positive career direction, it is perhaps equally important to communicate with, and learn from, the workers you are striving to protect.

The process engineers and technicians, floor and plant managers, laboratory scientists, and maintenance workers are the “experts” of their trade and can often provide the most hands-on insight regarding the health and safety needs of an organization. Furthermore, their input can put your daily responsibilities in perspective.

Don’t Play Safety Cop Many entry-level IH positions place much greater weight on regulatory compliance than on the risk of workers’ losing their hearing or developing cancer 40 years into the future. While an institution’s clean compliance record may be one valid measure of your effectiveness as an IH, you shouldn’t simply play “safety cop” or go through the motions of preventing OSHA citations. Rather, take every opportunity to inform those around you of the reasons for the regulations, and, by extension, of the health and safety benefits that your work is providing. Young IHs who focus on the meaning behind their work will transition more easily from their education to their career. With this mindset, then, and with the help of mentors and open communication with workers, young IHs can be effective both in the beginning and later stages of their career.