A Career In Brownfields

"Tuition is free, thanks to the EPA and funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the United Way. The job placement rate is more than 80 percent. The average entry-level pay is $27,000. And the program is one example of a career ladder for the 63 percent of the state's adults who do not have four-year college degrees."

"Graduates of the program could go on to handle hazardous waste and clean up contaminated industrial sites...Several explained that they used to work in construction, and that an environmental job is a good next step that could be less physically taxing. Others said the field is growing, and that these jobs won't be outsourced overseas."