You can study for a degree qualification approved by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

If you already have a degree in a related subject, you could get into environmental health careers through an accredited postgraduate course.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
• a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

You can apply to do an Environmental Health Practitioner Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship.

This usually takes 4 years to complete, as a mix of on-the-job training and academic study at an approved university.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

You may be able to start as an environmental health technician and study for a part-time environmental health degree while you're working.

With qualifications and experience, you may then be able to work towards chartered practitioner status.

You'll need:

• active listening skills
• analytical thinking skills
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• excellent verbal communication skills
• excellent written communication skills
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

You're likely to need a full, clean driving licence for this job.

In your day-to-day duties you may:

• inspect businesses for health and safety, food hygiene and food standards
• investigate outbreaks of food poisoning and infectious disease
• collect samples for laboratory testing
• inspect houses to make sure they're safe for people to live in
• enforce environmental health laws and give evidence in court
• investigate accidents at work
• investigate noise and environmental nuisance complaints
• provide advice to community groups or businesses and give educational talks to improve people’s health

You could work in an office, in the countryside or in a business.

Your working environment may be dirty and you'll travel often.

You may need to wear protective clothing.