During the many reorganizations, I found that one day the music stopped, and I didn't have a chair. His seat had moved to solid waste management at Chevron's El Segundo Refinery in Los Angeles. In that job he developed a proprietary program to track the refinery's solid waste, defined the costs of waste management and developed systems to better manage recyclable waste such as precious-metal catalyst. Today his attentions have shifted to the Subsurface Recovery Project, which recovers over 11 thousand of gallons of oil and refined products each day from 65 recovery wells and three vapor recovery incinerators. This subsurface cleanup, says Hahn, is one of the biggest undertakings in the country.
Competition is fierce and management focuses on cutting costs.
Companies that once hired consultants now staff environmental groups in house or selectively hire experienced people with the desired skills. For the student looking forward to that first job, patience and flexibility are key. There are entry-level jobs out there in consulting right now. A director of hydrology for Latin America, he also works with U.S. clients on water supply, dewatering, and mining hydrology. About two to three years ago, we all found out how much it would cost to clean things up.