Discussing the applications of Toxicology

Graduate School
1

<p>I have been exploring the potential of some sort of degree (BS, MA) in toxicology/pharmacology. I'm not actually interested so much in industry research as I am in understanding common environmental concerns (e.g. household air quality, effects of water additives, food additives, hazards of household chemicals, workplace chemicals, regional living conditions).</p>

<p>My idea is to start a small business that would advise households about long-term health/environmental concerns. Household pricing would be affordable (think HR Block prices). I'd also hope to get involved in workplace safety while trying to partner with insurance companies (by reducing health risks). It would also be cool to get into advocacy just by putting out communications on certain hazards.</p>

<p>My question is whether such an idea is tenable, and in and of itself warrants my undertaking three years of education. I am interested in the topic, so I wouldn't be pushing myself through. I'm just wondering whether the combined effects of successful government regulation and individual common sense would be enough that I wouldn't see any customers. As I think, there's plenty of people I know who express general concern about products or conditions they just don't understand.</p>

<p>Just as background, I already have a BA in the humanities and none of my science coursework would apply. I'd be starting with basic biology and chemistry, which would put graduation about three years out.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Sorry for the bump everyone.</p>

<p>Would anyone have an opinion whether toxicology could be successfully applied in a more home, community and workplace safety-type endeavor? Would potential clients be interested in paying a moderate sum for consulting and in person evaluations of chemical conditions?</p>

<p>I know it’s a narrow question, but thanks!</p>

3

<p>You’ll need to do market research to determine how many people are willing to pay for this service and what they are willing to pay.</p>

4

<p>Interesting - I can’t give specific advice here, but you may want to start by talking with a program that offers a MPH degree.</p>

5

<p>Maybe I should give a more thorough answer. </p>

<p>The first thing I would do is see if these is even a feasible field. If you test the houses of people you know, do find any chemicals or toxins that would be harmful to them? And you need to be able to test / find things more complex than what most people already check (mold, asbestos, lead paint, carbon monoxide) and that people can fix. </p>

<p>Once you find that this is a feasible thing to do that generates potentially valuable results, you then need to consider the market for your service. Conduct focus groups with people you don’t know or interview them one-on-one, to get an idea for whether or not people are willing to pay for your service, and if so how much they’re willing to pay. Track demographics from those people to try to extrapolate the interest in your service. Once you know how many people are willing to pay and how much they are willing to pay, you can determine the market cap for your business and can determine if it is worth your time. If this is a business that generates $2 per hour in revenue with a $30,000 per year cap, you look for other work. If it pays more and has a good amount of potential, then you pursue it.</p>

<p>Once you know that, you need to estimate costs: e.g. employees, taxes, equipment, maybe a storefront, advertising, the cost of your time, gas, legal fees, accounting fees, insurance, worker’s compensation, health insurance, etc. Once you know all of that, you can determine the profit margin on your business.</p>

<p>With all of that, write up a business plan, go to a funding source, and see if they’ll give you a loan for start-up. Also look at partnering with other services. Remediation companies might give you money to recommend them after finding something at a client site. </p>

<p>Now, back to your question - it seems like you’re a high school student considering this as a plan for 5-10 years from now. I wouldn’t. There’s so many “many… if…”'s in this plan. Pursue a more flexible career / education that might also allow you to do this but doesn’t lock you into this path.</p>

6

<p>I’m actually a recent college graduate. My BA is in journalism and anthropology, so my work skills are currently limited.</p>

<p>Responding to, “And you need to be able to test / find things more complex than what most people already check (mold, asbestos, lead paint, carbon monoxide) and that people can fix,” I think you have a point there. Beside these major concerns, I think it may be helpful to talk to people about household chemicals, review items and practices linked to cancer.</p>

<p>Outside of the home, I know from personal experience that there is a lot of work to be done with chem safety at blue collar, construction and cleaning-type businesses. I don’t know if either business owners or insurance companies would pay for this type of consulting, but that’s something worth investigating.</p>

<p>If anyone is trained in a related field, I’d be interested to hear whether there are actual health hazards from chemicals in these settings.</p>

7

<p>Most of the settings you’ve mentioned have industrial hygienists that manage the exposure hazard to employees. It sounds to me like your plan is to take industrial hygiene to the home.</p>

8

<p>Not to be rude, but I’ve worked a number of cleaning, low-skill and blue collar type positions all through college and this is the first I’ve heard of the industrial hygenist title. I see your point however, that chem safety is more widely practiced in the workplace than in the home.</p>

<p>I would argue that safety and risk control isn’t always a consideration among contractors or companies with fewer than 100 employees. Therein lies one of the problems though: will business owners have an incentive to start caring about chem safety?</p>

<p>Meeting or pretending to meet OSHA and other regulations is one thing, but a more serious concern for chem safety is another.</p>