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Date: 11/21/2025

Industrial Ecologists

Apply principles and processes of natural ecosystems to develop models for efficient industrial systems. Use knowledge from the physical and social sciences to maximize effective use of natural resources in the production and use of goods and services. Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Identify environmental impacts caused by products, systems, or projects.
    • Review industrial practices, such as the methods and materials used in construction or production, to identify potential liabilities and environmental hazards.
    • Perform environmentally extended input-output (EE I-O) analyses.
    • Conduct scientific protection, mitigation, or restoration projects to prevent resource damage, maintain the integrity of critical habitats, and minimize the impact of human activities.
    • Conduct analyses to determine the maximum amount of work that can be accomplished for a given amount of energy in a system, such as industrial production systems and waste treatment systems.
    • Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
    • Research sources of pollution to determine environmental impact or to develop methods of pollution abatement or control.
    • Analyze changes designed to improve the environmental performance of complex systems and avoid unintended negative consequences.
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of industrial ecology programs, using statistical analysis and applications.
    • Plan or conduct studies of the ecological implications of historic or projected changes in industrial processes or development.
    • Research environmental effects of land and water use to determine methods of improving environmental conditions or increasing outputs, such as crop yields.
    • Investigate the adaptability of various animal and plant species to changed environmental conditions.
    • Monitor the environmental impact of development activities, pollution, or land degradation.
    • Forecast future status or condition of ecosystems, based on changing industrial practices or environmental conditions.
    • Provide industrial managers with technical materials on environmental issues, regulatory guidelines, or compliance actions.
    • Perform analyses to determine how human behavior can affect, and be affected by, changes in the environment.
    • Prepare plans to manage renewable resources.
    • Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.
    • Plan or conduct field research on topics such as industrial production, industrial ecology, population ecology, and environmental production or sustainability.
    • Apply new or existing research about natural ecosystems to understand economic and industrial systems in the context of the environment.
    • Carry out environmental assessments in accordance with applicable standards, regulations, or laws.
    • Investigate accidents affecting the environment to assess ecological impact.
    • Identify sustainable alternatives to industrial or waste-management practices.
    • Redesign linear, or open-loop, systems into cyclical, or closed-loop, systems so that waste products become inputs for new processes, modeling natural ecosystems.
    • Review industrial practices, such as the methods and materials used in construction or production, to identify potential liabilities and environmental hazards.
    • Prepare technical and research reports, such as environmental impact reports, and communicate the results to individuals in industry, government, or the general public.
    • Recommend methods to protect the environment or minimize environmental damage from industrial production practices.
    • Create complex and dynamic mathematical models of population, community, or ecological systems.
    • Identify or compare the component parts or relationships between the parts of industrial, social, and natural systems.
    • Build and maintain databases of information about energy alternatives, pollutants, natural environments, industrial processes, and other information related to ecological change.
    • Promote use of environmental management systems (EMS) to reduce waste or to improve environmentally sound use of natural resources.
    • Examine local, regional, or global use and flow of materials or energy in industrial production processes.
    • Plan or conduct studies of the ecological implications of historic or projected changes in industrial processes or development.
    • Conduct analyses to determine the maximum amount of work that can be accomplished for a given amount of energy in a system, such as industrial production systems and waste treatment systems.
    • Review research literature to maintain knowledge on topics related to industrial ecology, such as physical science, technology, economy, and public policy.
    • Develop alternative energy investment scenarios to compare economic and environmental costs and benefits.
    • Conduct applied research on the effects of industrial processes on the protection, restoration, inventory, monitoring, or reintroduction of species to the natural environment.
    • Conduct environmental sustainability assessments, using material flow analysis (MFA) or substance flow analysis (SFA) techniques.
    • Examine local, regional, or global use and flow of materials or energy in industrial production processes.
    • Translate the theories of industrial ecology into eco-industrial practices.
    • Identify or develop strategies or methods to minimize the environmental impact of industrial production processes.
    • Develop or test protocols to monitor ecosystem components and ecological processes.
    • Investigate the impact of changed land management or land use practices on ecosystems.
    • Identify or develop strategies or methods to minimize the environmental impact of industrial production processes.

    Skills

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    Knowledge

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • 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.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • 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.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • 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.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • 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.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 80640/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 38.77/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,530
    • Yearly Projected Openings 200

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Initiative
    • Persistence
    • Achievement/Effort

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Laser fax machine
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Scanners
    • Special purpose telephones

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Cloud-based management software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base management system software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • File versioning software
    • Geographic information system
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Program testing software
    • Project management software
    • Sales and marketing software
    • Spreadsheet software
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