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Why in the world would you want to eliminate the experience requirement for
becoming a CHP???...What should happen is the ABHP rescind their requirement for
CHP's that they have a BS degree even to be considered. This is
ludicrous!!!...There are many CHP's out there that did not have their degrees at
time of certification but which have several years of "in the trenches"
experience and that makes them (IMHO) better CHP's than some young blood
straight out of school. I think it is a travesty that these experienced
HP's ( of which I am) with years of on the job experience are not allowed to
become CHP's just because (in most cases) they don't have a useless piece of
paper that taught them nothing about HP hanging on the wall ( no offence to my
colleagues who have this). Why is it so important that a CHP have a BS
degree? I, along with several of my peers, were ex-Navy nukes (and most
people know what that entails) and are perfectly capable of fulfilling the job
and educational requirements of the CHP. I think the ABHP is sorely
depriving itself of highly qualified individuals as a result of it's decision to
exclude these nondegreed individuals. Experience is not everything....but
it sure is worth considering.
Mitchell W. Davis, RRPT Health Physicist 915-697-3523 915-349-4824
Cell radiation@cox.net
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 12:46
PM
Subject: RE: Non-CHPs in the health
physics job market - Opportunities are present
Toli et al,
It is my experience that
when postings are made, there is very little interest. Just because something
is "preferred" doesn't mean it is mandatory.
Regarding standards for entry
level HPs, I would look to the requirements for CHP test taking and eliminate
the experience requirement. Another good test is to see if you meet
the requirements for participating in a HP Masters Degree program. Of
course that is not all there is to it, but gives a general idea of what is
required. One of the first things I did after passing Part 1 was update
my resume. When CHP is preferred, and you have completed Part 1, you are
well on your way.
Having a degree in physics
doesn't necessarily qualify you in everyone's eyes, though it is about as good
as it gets outside an HP degree. Does the candidate have any experience
doing HP work (summer internships). Anyone doing HP for a while realizes
that it is a multidisciplinary field. That is one of the things that
attracted me to it. Lots of biology, physiology, chemistry, ecology,
geology, hydrology, etc, and physics (though some physicists think the others
are merely subsets of physics, and if you can have a good discussion
on how, you are probably qualified).
There are lots of excellent
books out there relating to HP. This is why so many people are good at
it regardless of their degree.
Rob
Robert J. Gunter, CHP
East Tennessee Technology
Park
Operations Support Manager
Safety and Ecology Corporation
Bldg
1020, Rm 18
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Ph: (865) 241-9748
Cell: (865)
556-4380
Pager: (865) 873-0078
Radsafers:
One thing I've noticed
is that in the health physics job market, professional opportunities
seem to be few and far between for non-CHP's. (Note: I'm not currently
looking for a job.) It seems as if non-CHPs are generally limited to
technician level positions. What compounds this problem is, that
according the ABHP, technician level experience does not satisfy the
experience requirement for certification. The lack of professional
entry level health physics positions for non-CHPs steers away recent
college grads who might consider a career in health physics. As
evidence of this, take note of how many people under age 30 are at a
Health Physics Society meeting. If you can count them with more than
one hand I'd be surprised. Think about it, you don't need to be a PE
to get an entry level engineering job right out of college. Do yo! u
really need to be a CHP to be an entry level health physicist?
The problem seems to me that there seems to be no recognized
standard of achievement for non-CHP's. The easiest analogy that comes
to mind would be the Boy Scouts. Let's say that a CHP would be
equivalent to an Eagle Scout. You could assign different "merit
badges" for various levels of experience and understanding (similar to
the varying levels of Cub Scouts). If there were some sort of scale
that would be universally accepted, perhaps employers can better
tailor job qualifications and salary accordingly. Yes, I am aware that
there is a Part I to the certification exam, but I have yet to see
this specifically referenced as a qualifier in a job
posting.
I'd like to hear what others (especially non-CHP's)
think about this.
Toli Mikell
(About the author: I'm a
Health Physicist (non-CHP) for a health care services company with a
B.S. in Physics. I'm 28 and have been invol! ved in health physics
since graduating college in
1998.)
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