Additional Information
Usually, health inspectors must have a bachelor's degree in environmental
health or in the physical or biological sciences. In most states, they're
licensed by examining boards.
There is a national Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered
Sanitarian (REHS/RS) exam. It's administered by the National Environmental
Health Association.
"Not everybody requires that, but that is the national certification exam
that people would look to as a standard," says Erin Reichert. She's an advisor
for the environmental health program at Colorado State University.
"That test is on national standards, but each state has their own standards
as far as, for example, food cooling temperatures," says Reichert.
Reichert says high school students should focus on chemistry and math.
"Everything in environmental health is pretty chemical based, and so having
enough of the math to be able to understand the chemistry [is important],"
says Reichert. "A little bit of exposure to biology and physics is also good.
And public speaking -- any courses that will improve their public speaking
skills will help."