OHShub.com interviews recent successful examinees of the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) exam administered by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH).  The resultant text is as follows:

OHShub.com:  When did you decide to take the CIH exam?

Examinee:  I decided in 2003 to make it a goal of mine to obtain the CIH certification.

OHShub.com:  When did you obtain certification?

Examinee:  I actually obtained certification in May 2010.

OHShub.com:  What is your current career field and how do you feel it prepared you?

Examinee:  Currently I am in the consulting field.  I feel that it (i.e. being a consultant) prepared me by having the ability to complete a multitude of traditional IH projects.  The great thing about being a consultant is that there is always something new and fresh in meeting the needs of the client, which exposes you to a variety of the traditional “IH rubrics”.

OHShub.com:  How long had you been in the IH/Safety career field when you sat for the CIH exam?

Examinee:  Less than 10 years.  I believe it was actually 9 years.  While you can take the test after 5 years, I have always personally regarded the CIH designation highly.  I felt that it was important and wanted to have a certain “skillset” prior to sitting for the exam.

OHShub.com:  Are you saying that you did not just want to have a “certification” but wanted to be able to exemplify the characteristics of most CIH’s in the field?

Examinee:  Exactly.  That is precisely my thoughts and feelings.

OHShub.com:  What was/is your work/career-life like?

Examinee:  I consider myself very fortunate to have a very well qualified mentor (who is a CIH) and excellent IH support staff around me.  Personally, I feel that it would have been much more difficult to obtain such a high level IH skillset without those continuing resources.

OHShub.com:  Personally, how many hours do you think you studied in preparation for the CIH exam?

Examinee:  Great question.  But one that I thought about many times after many months of studying.  I’d imagine that I studied somewhere in the range of 700-800 hours in all.  Granted, this was over a few years.  However, over the final year leading up to the exam, the final breakdown was probably somewhere in the range of:

• > 12 months out = 120 hours
• 12 – 6 months out = 200 hours
• 6  - 3 months out = 200 hours
• 3 – 1 months out = 120 hours
• < 1 month out = 60-90 hours

Continue reading Confessions of a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) Examinee