Occupational hygiene employment outlook is favorable.

Even in a time of economic uncertainty, highly qualified occupational health professionals have their choice of jobs, a recent survey indicates. As more national emphasis is placed on workplace and environmental health and safety, the demand for industrial hygienists, leading professionals in the occupational safety and health field, is estimated to increase well into the future. These conclusions and other positive findings regarding educational and employment opportunities for industrial hygienists were published in a July 1993 Manpower Assessment Brief by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environment, Safety and Health.

Data cited in the report, which focused in part on federal employment opportunities for industrial hygienists, shows that the number of industrial hygienists employed full-time in federal civil service in all government agencies grew 44 percent between the years 1985 and 1991. The fastest growth rate occurred in the Department of Veterans Affairs, which reported a tremendous 765 percent increase in industrial hygiene employment from 1985 to 1991. The Department of Energy also reported increased employment of industrial hygienists from 14 workers in 1985 to 42 in 1991, a 200 percent increase. As an indication of the amount of competition existing between the federal government and the private sector to recruit and retain top-notch industrial hygienists, the government has placed the industrial hygiene occupation on a list of jobs that qualify for special pay rates. This allows federal agencies to pay higher than the general scheduled salary scale. Another sign of the increased demand for industrial hygienists is the Department of Energy's 1991 listing of industrial hygiene as a "shortage occupation."

The brief also reported on the need for industrial hygienists in the private sector. Forty academic institutions provided data on postgraduate employment for industrial hygienists with a master's degree or Ph.D. They reported that the largest group of graduates (52 percent) were employed in private U.S. industry. Government employment composed 24 percent, with the remaining graduates employed in academia, U.S. military, foreign employment and the medical/health care industry. Faculty members from the schools' industrial hygiene programs estimated that there were about two job openings for each new graduate.

Industrial hygienists working in the field, who were interviewed as part of the study, commented similarly. They indicated that they felt the demand for qualified industrial hygienists would increase given the continued emphasis on the long-term health effects of work environments and the increasing number of safety and health regulations.