Hazardous Materials Management

Types of Degrees Hazardous Materials Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many hazardous materials management and waste technology/technician graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	72
Associate Degree	31
Undergraduate Certificate	1

What Hazardous Materials Management Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to hazardous materials management and waste tech and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Tech Majors

Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Tech majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Skills for Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Tech Majors

When studying hazardous materials management and waste tech, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Abilities for Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Tech Majors

A major in hazardous materials management and waste tech will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Hazardous Materials Management Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with hazardous materials management and waste tech:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Hazardous Materials Removal Workers	17.1%	$42,030

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Hazardous Materials Management?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 58% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of hazardous materials management and waste tech majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	13
White	12
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	2

Geographic Diversity

Hazardous Materials Management and Waste Tech appeals to people across the globe. About 3.2% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Hazardous Materials Management Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to hazardous materials management and waste tech is $47,050. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Hazardous Materials Management

Some careers associated with hazardous materials management and waste tech require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to hazardous materials management and waste tech have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	25.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	24.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	19.1%
Some College Courses	13.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	13.3%

Online Hazardous Materials Management Programs

In 2020-2021, 27 schools offered a hazardous materials management and waste tech program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	11	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	15	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Hazardous Materials Management Worth It?

The median salary for a hazardous materials management and waste tech grad is $47,050 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 18% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $143,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Hazardous Materials Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to hazardous materials management and waste tech.

Major	Number of Grads
Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Engineering Technology	7,017
Water Quality & Wastewater Treatment Management & Recycling Technology	1,038
Environmental Engineering Technology/Environmental Technology	347
Other Environmental Control Technologies	95

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.