Routes into EH - from the kitchen to the classroom

Sam Hall is currently studying part-time for an Environmental Health MSc degree at Leeds Beckett University, while also working around his studies.

A passionate cook, Sam has worked in food businesses and previously studied for a degree in history and international politics.

In this blog, Sam talks about what drove him to change course in his career and inspired him to train to be an Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP).

Pathways During a Pandemic

After A-Levels, I had a gap year, spending time volunteering abroad in Cambodia, working at the local McDonalds, volunteering at a local foodbank, and working abroad in Southern Arizona at a summer camp.

Returning to the UK to study History and International Politics at Aberystwyth University, I graduated into a global pandemic, not knowing what I wanted to do.

From Public Health to Paella

I applied for graduate schemes but ended up working for NHS Test and Trace and took on a vital role educating the public about a public health crisis during a pandemic. Something that particularly stayed with me from that time that I remember vividly, was ringing a contact of a case only to have his daughter pick up the phone and tell me that he was dead. It was a challenging and sobering time.

My next career step was moving into cooking, and this was my first taste of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), delivered through Safer Food Better Business (SFBB). I’d always enjoyed baking and cooking so what could go wrong? At first it was enjoyable but quickly declined due to poor management. I felt like I was walking on eggshells all day. Towards the end, I refused to work with my immediate supervisor - it wasn’t worth the stress, the anxiety, or the money.

Then I moved to work in a local Tapas Bar and Deli. Some Environmental Health highlights from my two years there included rats that nobody could find the ingress point of; out-of-date products that were routinely placed on the ‘kitchen side’ of the walk-in fridge for use and the boiler breaking in the kitchen and continuing to serve food with no suitably situated handwash sinks with hot water. It really opened my eyes to the vital work EHPs do.

New Beginnings

Meanwhile, I was struggling with my physical and my mental health, pulling long day and evening shifts with undiagnosed sleep apnoea, eating and sleeping at weird and wonderful times, and trying to cope with (what I think) is undiagnosed Autism.

I knew I needed to make a change. I hadn’t found anything I was passionate about or good at since completing my first degree. Graduate schemes were over-subscribed, and I didn’t want to be stuck in someone else’s kitchen every Saturday night for the next 40 years.

I started to think more seriously about a career in Environmental Health, prompted by my experiences in kitchens. I found the MSc Environmental Health course at Leeds Beckett University, accredited by the CIEH. Reading through the details, I realised I’d found my next steps. CIEH accreditation was a significant factor in choosing Leeds Beckett - I’d applied for trainee roles with the local authority and on feedback, someone mentioned the CIEH.

Detail and Retail

Now coming towards my first assessments, I’ve surprised myself with how much I’ve enjoyed the course. I was nervous at first, having been out of education for a few years and having never studied Environmental Health academically, but I soon found my work experience really helped. Although my background is food, I’ve enjoyed studying the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. I think its partly because my teachers are very good at relating their teaching to real world consequences, and partly because my brain thrives on details, moving past symptoms to get to the root cause of the problem.

I’m on the part-time pathway, working at a local supermarket as a specialist in meat and fish to support myself, and gain some valuable work experience along the way. Between my job, my studies and some valuable work experience gained during breaks from teaching, I hope to eventually be auditing or inspecting kitchens - my days of being chained to the stove have finished.

Find out more about Postgraduate (MSc) courses in Environmental Health here: https://www.cieh.org/what-is-environmental-health/how-do-i-become-an-ehp/postgraduate-msc/