There are many different jobs that might fall under the category of waste management. You can be managing waste at the company level, the city level, the county level, the state level, or the federal level.
Waste management needs to be taken care of at the company level – although other than very big companies, there is not usually a waste management position. For instance, if there were several companies that were located in one building or one main area, there might be waste management positions in this area, so that the solid waste and liquid waste could be managed successfully. In this type of job, the waste that is managed is waste that comes from the employees – both garbage and human waste.
There is another type of waste management job at the company level. If the company itself produces waste – toxic waste or other types of harmful substances, then a waste management position would be responsible for dealing with that.
At both of these smaller levels, the waste management position requires working with state and federal organizations to ensure that waste is managed appropriately. The position also requires making sure that precise standards are taken into account when creating waste management plans. Waste management can be a very complex job, so most of the tasks will require working with a team to be sure that all of the waste is being handled correctly. Waste management jobs might necessitate making plans and following through with them, and they also might require troubleshooting or taking care of waste management problems that arise.
At the county and state level, waste management jobs can be different. Here, they focus on making sure that the rules and regulations are being followed by the people who are at the lower levels. In these types of jobs, you might be responsible for supervising a company's management of waste, and for making sure that all of the waste is being managed correcting by being in touch with several waste management workers in several different areas.
At the national or federal waste management level, you might be working with congress or your legislatures to pass laws for waste management, and you might be working on various ways that waste can be managed throughout the years at the federal level. Remember that each time waste is taken somewhere, it mixes together with even more waste – so at the federal level there is going to be a lot for waste management responsibilities.
Education and experience
Depending on the level of job that you are looking for, there are various levels of education and experience that waste management employees should have. First of all, dealing with waste might sound like a field for uneducated people. However, this is untrue. Waste management might seem like a dirty job, but it is one that requires a high level of skill. There is more to know about waste than you might think: how to store it safely, what to do with various types of waste, and what waste can be safely mixed with others, recycled, or reused again. Acquiring this knowledge takes a significant amount of education and experience, therefore obtaining a degree or taking classes in the area may prove beneficial. Because many of the highest-level waste management jobs require lots of experience, starting with local or small level experience, you can end up with a job that has room for advancement.
