| Radsafers, What a debate! As far as the education requirement for becoming a CHP is concerned, I'm all for it. While I respect the positions of those who have argued against it, I disagree with them. A college education is more than just getting "a piece of paper". Even the most basic health physics concepts are based principles learned only in college. The reason why all the HP's (CHP and non-CHP alike) in my department keep their college textbooks in their offices is because we use them in our day to day duties. I can't imagine trying to do dose reconstruction, shielding design, data analysis without a college education. Another reason for the college degree requirement is that a lot of regulations and regulatory agencies (e.g. NY Dept. of Labor Industrial Code Rule 38) require it to do some types of health physics work. Although I believe in the degree requirement, I also believe experience is equally as important. Education alone just doesn't cut it. As Calvin Coolidge said, "the world is full of educated derelicts". In my former days as an HP tech, I lost count of the number of times I had to explain to some researcher with a Ph.D. how a survey meter works. These people weren't dumb, they just didn't have the experience to know better. I think that some amount of technician level experience should count towards certification (maybe up to a maximum of 1-2 yrs.). As for the job market, I know there are professional opportunities for non-CHP's (I'm a non-CHP with a professional job), I just think that they seem too few. That's my two cents worth. Toli Mikell |