Do the Change with Aldo Muñoz, MPH

Part 1: Do the Change Podcast with Aldo Muñoz, MPH

TYRA PARRISH: Hi, everyone. Welcome to the Do The Change podcast. It's challenging and reimagining OEHS. And this podcast really focuses on highlighting upcoming leaders in the field and how they got to where they are today with a special focus on occupational health and environmental sciences. So we're going to be talking about all the hills and valleys of their journeys and hope we get some insight onto some nontraditional paths to the field. My name is Tara Parrish. I'm a recent graduate from the MPH program here at Berkeley, and our guest for the episode is Aldo Munoz. Woo!

ALDO MUNOZ: Yeah.

TYRA PARRISH: So Aldo is also a recent MPH grad from the University of California Berkeley. Congratulations. And originally from Chula Vista, Aldo currently works as an industrial hygiene consultant in the Bay Area and also volunteers for the-- I'm going to try to say this-- Maquiladora?

ALDO MUNOZ: Perfect.

TYRA PARRISH: Really? Oh, cool. Health and Safety Support Network also known as MHSSA. And so one, welcome Aldo. I'm so glad you're here. So glad you can speak to us.

ALDO MUNOZ: Thank you. Happy to be here.

TYRA PARRISH: Yes, OK. So first before we get to the questions, we're going to start with a check-in question. So check-in question for today is, what never fails to make you happy?

ALDO MUNOZ: That question is very easy. It's food. 100% food. Even if it's bad food, it makes me happy because then I think about how I can make it better. But--

TYRA PARRISH: That's fair. See, I'm like a particular food--

ALDO MUNOZ: --always makes me happy. Whether I'm making it, whether someone's feeding me, that's going to be food.

TYRA PARRISH: Oh, I love that. That's a really good one. I think for me it is man, food was tough. I guess I would say like my dogs. My dog is like happy-go-lucky lucky. Like, she's not a Golden Retriever, but she has Golden Retriever vibe so she's always just like doing dumb stuff. And her being happy to see me makes me happy, if that makes sense.

ALDO MUNOZ: Yeah, no, for real. And it's not only those things, but it's what comes with it. So like I'm thinking food, it's usually you're on the table and you have other people there. It's all of that around that one thing so that really adds to it so much.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah, and that's cool because food is like very community like center. Like food is where you share food, you learn new recipes. Food has a lot of positive. That's a really good one. Yeah. OK. So now we're going to-- I need to go away from that question because now I'm thinking about all the food I love--

ALDO MUNOZ: This is not a cooking podcast or like a food podcast, right?

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: Bay area favorites?

TYRA PARRISH: It is for cooking.

[LAUGHTER]

OK. So the first question is, as I stated earlier, that this podcast really explores nontraditional paths, and your particular path is very nontraditional because you actually have a BS in health communication and a minor in computer science from SDSU. San Diego State University for those who don't know, the Warriors.

So I'm curious how you become interested in the field of occupational health and environmental health sciences considering that that's like your initial background. So if you can walk us through that.

ALDO MUNOZ: Yeah, it's a long path winding road to where I am now. Specifically in industrial hygiene what I've learned over the last two years is that no one has a direct path. Hardly anyone ever knows what industrial hygiene is. They always first learn about it is like, oh, what is that? Sounds interesting. Sounds a little weird.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: So I started at SDSU not in health communication. Specific, I actually started in just normal communication. I thought I was like broadcast journalism something like that, and that wasn't right for me. So then I pivoted to health communication, which I would say is more of a communication focused center public health.

So think of health campaigns, getting people to improve their health behaviors. So classic one is let's say the antismoking campaigns or getting off tobacco smoke. So I started there even getting out and getting my bachelor's I thought, where am I going to go from here?

I began in a nonprofit organization for juveniles, for kids that had behavioral issues or maybe troubles with the law. And I saw myself a lot in these kids because they were from the same places where I was from in San Diego getting a little bit of the same trouble I was getting into when I was a kid, but they were good kids.

And I started with that work. And just also didn't necessarily think that it was the right place for me. I wanted a little bit more. And moving on from that step in that nonprofit organization, I knew I wanted to get into research. So then I secured a fellowship with Stanford that was on income inequality in the United States.

So I was sent out with my wonderful work partner from Harlem. The two of us went to Texas. We went to Dallas. Fort Worth, Houston. We went to Florida, Puerto Rico to really get a good sense of what is it like to be an American from the bottom of the ladder to the very top. And we had very intimate conversations inside people's homes for hours.

And that's the first time I think I had that push into occupational health and safety with just people's lives at work because one of those topics that really came up so often was work. Was really getting to realize that people spend half their day eight, 10, 12, sometimes more of their hours of the day at work, not even at home.

So just getting to realize that that's such an important part of people's lives. And I knew that growing up. Parents from Mexico they're always at work. My community always at work, but I didn't necessarily internalize it. So it wasn't until I saw it somewhere else and not necessarily blinded by what I grew up with, that I really started to understand that.

Fast forwarding a little bit, come back home, Covid happened. They shipped us out of Puerto Rico because of COVID. So we were doing our work from home from then, still calling folks. And when that concludedm I started a position with the County of San Diego as a COVID-19 case investigator.

TYRA PARRISH: Oh, cool.

ALDO MUNOZ: I was calling people up that were COVID-19 positive giving them one, making sure they knew that they were positive, so providing health information. But I thought my most important job was just being a resource, being a person there for them.

We didn't necessarily know what was going on. I had all the information there provided for me. That I can again, using my health communication that I learned in undergrad, providing that information in an easy, consumable way, friendly manner with these people.

And something again, that pushed occupational health, realizing that so many of these exposures were occurring at work. Getting to realize the stories that were most impactful to me to me was a gentleman-- an old man, he was an old Mexican man. He spoke like this in Spanish like very deep voice. He was a little grumpy to talk to, but it's like you know, like--

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: He got infected with COVID-19 while cleaning hospital rooms. That was his job. And it turned out unfortunately that when I checked back in a couple of weeks later that he did pass. So learning, getting to see and hear stories like that, hearing stories of people not being accepted back into work after contracting COVID-19, and again, just realizing that work is such an important part of people's lives.

And it wasn't until then that I knew I wanted to get a master's degree in public health and really focus my career in that. I just knew that was the path. Again, I still didn't even know what industrial hygiene was then.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: Until I started looking through Berkeley's website, looking at the Public Health page and looking at the two lines in the middle of a page in the Environmental Health Sciences website that mentioned industrial hygiene. And looking into it, it looked like that perfect middle ground between more of the soft sciences, the health communication side, more of those hard sciences. I don't like saying soft and hard because they're all hard. I would say the soft is harder.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah, exactly.

ALDO MUNOZ: But you know it's that traditional thing.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: I think that perfect middle ground between the two of both sciences that I thought was a great way to make an impact in my community. And yes, a kind of winding road to different places but always knowing like getting that feel of which way I'm being pushed to and what's really sparking my interest and my passion. But I'm really happy I got here. When I graduated, I was like, you know what, this is the right thing.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah. And I feel like, as you were talking, I was like, yeah, it's a windy road but also there was a very clear like pattern in everything that you were talking about, particularly when you were saying that you really just wanted to connect with the community and really understand and really make sure that they also are like understanding health and all their resources through a language that is accessible.

That was like the common language. And so it was really cool just listening to you of like, yeah, it was windy, but it's almost like that silver lining of there is something common, even though from the outside looking in, it looks like, oh, we look over here, here, then over here. It's like, no, the path looked windy, but it was going--

ALDO MUNOZ: It's getting somewhere.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah, it was going somewhere. I mean, now, look, you just graduated from Berkeley. You're awesome, obviously. I know your thesis, but your thesis was dope too.

ALDO MUNOZ: Thank you.

TYRA PARRISH: But-- yeah, and so staying on that thread about how health communication, like you said, is like more the, I guess, the more communicative side of public health, that word is tough. And how it's not the most, like we talked about, like traditional STEM major. Did you face any challenges of even applying to different jobs, or applying to Berkeley in regards to trying to make that shift or trying to-- this seems like something I want to do, but how do I connect it to--

ALDO MUNOZ: So I would say that I've always really liked math and sciences. So just, you mentioned before, that I minored in computer science, I only did that because I did more science in my life.

[LAUGHTER]

When I was an undergrad, I was like I do more. So I always wanted that in undergrad and even taking some math classes, a little bit of calculus here and there just because I felt like, oh, I might need this in the future. One challenge applying to Berkeley was highlighting that. Because absolutely when I was looking into the requirements of even then, do I have that chemistry background? Do I have the physics background? Because industrial hygiene historically, is a very engineer-oriented field and that has been changing more recently.

But I thought that was my strength because there are so many more people that are, let's say, they have a background in environmental engineering or some other hard sciences. My experience is something that the field is lacking. It's that connection. It's that being able to, again, might be a theme of this podcast but really making that connection with people.

What's the point of data, of these numbers, of this information? If you can put it in a nice package and deliver it with some meaning to the community and the people you're trying to impact. And not only that, but in a way that they can make their own and make that sustainable. So that's definitely one challenge.

But I talked with folks. They made it clear that it was OK.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: All right to still try. And I did try, , and I made sure to just to focus on the things that made me different, made me unique and really tell that story. And I think that's what really helped me succeed especially in the beginning. Don't get me wrong, there's still those classes in the first year-- bio stats and so on. I haven't taken statistics again since maybe junior, senior year of undergrad and even then it wasn't too hardcore.

So being thrown in there with some other doctors and other classes was challenging even though I do like those challenges. But it was just a matter of leaning in there with other students, getting their help, getting their support. Also very helpful that the people and faculty at Berkeley are so helpful. And there are so many other resources that are available. So definitely challenging but possible to get through. And I just had that community, had those resources available to help me succeed.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah. I'm really glad you pointed out that being different is actually what makes you stand out cause I think sometimes people think that, oh, well, a lot of people are going into this field, I therefore have to like be that major. And I will say like, I'll out myself I definitely was that person where I wanted to be a vet. I don't anymore, but I wanted to be a vet so I was like, bio is the way.

And then like I met this girl who wants to be a vet, and she majored in Spanish and minored in-- she only minored in biology to hit the bare minimum so that her application would go through. But she had mentioned something similar, and it's really just dope to hear that theme is common in other fields as well, particularly STEM because, like you said, the soft skills are actually harder than those math skills where you can be the smartest person in the world, but if you can't communicate it to where you can walk up to a stranger and they get it, then what's the point? What's the point of having those hard skills? If you can't even communicate, how do you even get to that point?

Yeah, that's just-- I'm just really glad you said that because that's definitely something that's like a misconception, I would say. And speaking of misconceptions, are there any other misconceptions or myths about careers in occupational health and environmental health that you think are just important to mention, especially for folks who are thinking about getting in the field or thinking of applying to jobs in the field?

ALDO MUNOZ: I think that number one thing would be what I mentioned before about just thinking that you need to come from that type of background of, let's say, environmental engineering or other types of engineering, or biology or chemistry for one, because, of course, in industrial hygiene you're dealing with different types of chemical exposures. So absolutely very helpful to come in with that chemistry background. Me? Did I take chemistry in undergrad? I don't remember. It might be on my transcript. I did take it in high school. Remember nothing. But other than that, it's a matter of just being able to take on that challenge and willing to learn.

I'd say in industrial hygiene, occupational health and safety, and especially for my internship experience, it's realizing that we're a bundle of information as occupational health professionals. We're bringing in information from academia, from science. We're bringing information from the people working on the field, and we're putting all that together into one nice package.

So you need to be a Jack of all trades whilst, of course, still being based in science. But really bringing all that information that's again, consumable, easy to understand, for all parties, for the workers, for management, for everyone. Yeah, I'd say the number one misconception is thinking that you need to come from that background. Not true.

TYRA PARRISH: I mean, that's--

ALDO MUNOZ: Not true.

TYRA PARRISH: I mean, I think that a lot of people need to hear that where it's like, you can come from wherever you want to come from as long as you like, obviously, you got to have the basics, whatever stuff so you know--

ALDO MUNOZ: Yeah.

TYRA PARRISH: --but that's not a limiting factor wherever you choose to come from. Yeah, so I guess another question that I have is, are there any mentorship programs or professional organizations that you would recommend for folks to either become a member of or just maybe look into to get a better sense of what IH is?

ALDO MUNOZ: I'd say, first of all, I mean, I was thrown in to COEH coming in.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: So I've got to represent COEH absolutely.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: And I feel like Berkeley and just IH general is a pretty small world--

TYRA PARRISH: Very.

ALDO MUNOZ: --especially I'd say the number one organization to get into is AHIA. Oh, am I getting tested on acronyms now?

TYRA PARRISH: No. I don't know I can't--

ALDO MUNOZ: American Industrial Hygiene Association. I think that's--

TYRA PARRISH: There you go. OK.

ALDO MUNOZ: But that's super helpful. Even joining in as a student member, it's fairly cheap. And they do provide lots of resources. And being a part of a local section here in Northern California with other industrial hygienists. Maybe they just graduated last year to our veteran OGs in the game of like one year around. Been here in Northern California for a long time. Learning from folks like him and just being able to be immersed in the industrial hygiene world was very helpful.

It helped me secure a job. It helped me to attend the Industrial Hygiene Association conference last year. I missed it just last week. I wasn't able to attend. But even going to the conference was super helpful. That's when I really got to know, all right, what does this world actually look like? What are its successes and what are its faults? Because I saw lots of faults in terms of the culture. But it was very valuable to join these types of organizations just to take all that in and really work in industrial hygiene.

But that's one. LOHP, PHP Labor Occupational Health Program at Berkeley. Very often found in UCLA, they have their own. I forgot what it's called. But there are different organizations around here in the Bay Area that I think were key to me develop as a industrial hygienist.

TYRA PARRISH: Gotcha.

ALDO MUNOZ: So definitely those things.

TYRA PARRISH: Gotcha. And I actually want to get back to a point that you said about some of the shortcomings of the field if you want to touch on that. Because I think it could also help people find like their niches or maybe that's something where I'm like, you know what? That's something I was interested in and now I know there's that hole where I could kind of be a part of that change. So if you don't mind just like touching on what did you see at that conference just in general where you're like, OK, this field is cool, but also they're kind of falling short in these areas?

ALDO MUNOZ: I think this segment of the podcast is called tea time so--

TYRA PARRISH: Tea time. Oh, you should-- I'm like, you know what? The next person that--

ALDO MUNOZ: The little jingle.

TYRA PARRISH: Yes. [LAUGHS] I used to get out my teacup, and I'm like, tell me what's going on?

[LAUGHTER]

ALDO MUNOZ: So getting to the conference it did seem like they were stuck or just there were a few decades back in terms of some issues. I remember one little breakout room where some consulting company presented. I think it was-- not exactly but I'm paraphrasing maybe the new horizon of occupational health and safety, or just what's new. And they put a slide that had so many topics about occupational health and safety and the most in-depth they got in terms of the new world is women. They were barely to women. There was nothing about race or ethnicity or anything in terms of impacting how your health is affected at work.

TYRA PARRISH: Wow.

ALDO MUNOZ: So just seeing that just rang that bell to me about the organization or just the field in general. So I think there's plenty of room to expand that space especially now in industrial hygiene occupational health and safety would be, let's say, just bringing that into the work, whether it's in academia, doing some research, doing some studies, or maybe how race or ethnic background impacts health at work. Maybe implementing that at some company or some consulting firm or something like that.

But there's definitely space for that. I thought that was the number one thing that came to my attention while I was at the conference. But I think Berkeley did a good job of bringing that into perspective a lot during classes. But, I think, that's also something that makes the program here at Berkeley special versus other places or maybe other universities. I'm not sure because I wasn't in their classes. And so I'm speculating. But I feel like that's something that makes it special here.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah

ALDO MUNOZ: Just reeling it back, I'm like, let's put this in perspective. What's the background? What's the context going on here? It's not just happening for no reason.

TYRA PARRISH: Right. And like that-- I totally agree with you on the field is a little behind. I was hoping you would say that. And the reason why I say that is because you notice that in regards to the diversity of the field, a lot of Black and Brown and people of color make up the workforce or like the front line construction worker force, but they are not represented in the leadership.

And you kind of see what happens when you have that dynamic. And then also how a workplace is-- maybe I'm going a little too far stretching-- but I feel like the workplace is better when those who are in leadership represent you. Because different groups have different needs and different concerns that are unique to their own ethnic background. So like, for instance, those who are undocumented may be less likely to speak up if there's something wrong simply because that their status puts them in a certain situation or make them more vulnerable compared to other groups.

And it's like unless you're a member of that group or unless you're tuned in to how that community has a very unique vulnerability, you wouldn't even know to like maybe create a safe space where you can unanimously write stuff, or you could talk to this person and your status will be protected or stuff of that nature. So I'm really glad you said that because that's something where you don't-- unless you're in it and you see it, you go, whoa, this is crazy. Like y'all need to catch up.

[LAUGHS]

ALDO MUNOZ: But it's that thing. [inaudible] Then again, it might have just been this one consulting firm that's actually--

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah, totally.

ALDO MUNOZ: It's absolutely possible. But yeah, a little behind.

TYRA PARRISH: A little.

ALDO MUNOZ: That creates opportunity. People from then different backgrounds coming into this field, different backgrounds from race, ethnicity, to where you're from in terms of a type of community, to specialization of whatever it is in academia. Whether it is your engineering, or Spanish like your friend.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUNOZ: Anything. I think it's very possible to thrive in occupational health and safety and bring these perspectives into it. And there's lots of opportunity for that.

TYRA PARRISH: Right. Hi, guys. This is Tyler Parrish, your host for this episode, and we have reached the end of part one of this conversation with this amazing speaker. Don't click out yet because part two to this conversation has already been posted. So go ahead and click over to the next page, and don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and Spotify page.

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Part 2: Do the Change Podcast with Aldo Muñoz, MPH 

TYRA PARRISH: Hey, all. We're now in part 2 of our conversation with our amazing speaker on Do the Change podcast. We're going to hop right back into the conversation. Feel free to subscribe to our YouTube channel, Spotify page, and follow us on Instagram at @dothechangepodcast.

Well, I'm going to do a hard topic shift. So I know this, because we talked about it before you went. But you took a trip to Thailand. So please tell us, one, how you got that awesome opportunity, because I thought that was really cool and just really demonstrates our networking. Or just knowing people and just being a dope person.

And then also what you did there, and how was that experience at that conference? It was a conference, right, in Thailand? Or something that you can share. Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So the way I got to join that opportunity-- I mentioned earlier, Garrett Brown. So he is part of the Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network. That was created in the early '90s in response to NAFTA. And all the maquiladoras, which are just factories that were created in Northern Mexico along the border.

So being from San Diego and my mom from Tijuana, she worked in maquiladoras. My family still works in them. So I knew, yeah, it's a good opportunity to--

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And especially now since I'm starting work with a consulting firm to really get my chops in industrial hygiene and really get that boots on the ground real experience. I wanted to do something that would bring me back, as a base--

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: --to make an impact, then. I got that opportunity with Garrett Brown. And he was an instructor for a Global Occupational Health class at Berkeley. So I was introduced to him. And then again, with that AIHA local section. Just being able to check in with him every few months.

So a few months ago, I emailed him. And be like, yo, Garrett, I want to get involved in more once I graduate. How can I do that? We had lunch. Then in the first 10 minutes, he mentioned this opportunity. And he would have gone himself. But these are long trips around the world are getting a little too much for him. So he posed the opportunity to me, and I wasn't going to say no.

TYRA PARRISH: Right.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Absolutely not. And the conference is for an organization called ANROEV, which is the Asian Network-- I'm forgetting.

TYRA PARRISH: Oh, you picked the hardest acronyms.

ALDO MUÑOZ: R-- Occupational and Environmental Victims. I forgot what the R means.

TYRA PARRISH: OK. OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So it's a network of different occupational health and safety organizations, advocacy groups, activists.

TYRA PARRISH: Awesome.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Unions from Asia. And they also bring in their victims, too, that experienced occupational health and safety illness or, yeah, experienced illness at work.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Or injury. And something I learned, again, even when I first heard the victim part, I thought, wow, that's interesting, especially coming from the United States. We're so accustomed to hearing survivor versus victim.

TYRA PARRISH: You read my mind because my mind went, were there survivors? Great.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Right?

TYRA PARRISH: I'm so glad you said that, yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And it's that cultural competence part where the victim is, I guess, more of an honorable thing in that side of the world.

TYRA PARRISH: OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So there's honor to that. So it's that difference of how we look at the world from here versus there. Point is you experienced health and safety injury and illness at work. And that's what matters.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: I don't care whether you call yourself survivor or a victim. Whatever. You experienced something at work.

TYRA PARRISH: Right.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And it was really interesting to immerse myself in that world. One, get myself out of a bubble of not only what I learned in school and what I'm doing here in Northern California. But get out of the bubble of the United States and go other side of the world and see what that's like in the kind of work that they're doing and how they're advocating for their occupational health and safety rights at work.

So that was the most interesting thing. I was there just open ears, open eyes.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: --as much as I could. Checking in with Garrett here and there.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Put things into perspective. But it was a really great experience. The first two days were just normal-- what you would think of in a normal conference. People speaking, making presentations. The most valuable thing was on the third day, we took a field trip about two hours north of Thailand-- I'm sorry, north of Bangkok.

I forgot what the name of the town was, but we spoke to some folks from this small town that worked at a factory. So just being able to be there in person in their community, hearing from them. Through their translator, of course, as well. But just getting that sense of being out of the comfortable AC room in this hotel and being in that hot, humid Thailand heat.

TYRA PARRISH: Right.

ALDO MUÑOZ: It's very important. I always say it's important to be there. It's a large part of a job of any experience is being there.

TYRA PARRISH: Right.

ALDO MUÑOZ: As long as you're there, you're doing half the work, I believe. But yeah, it was a super valuable experience. And my last day there, I got to get a Thai massage. Oh man, they broke me. I ain't never got a massage in my life, and zero to 100 real quick.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah, I was like you went--

[LAUGHS]

That's crazy.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Did that and just had some trouble walking the town after, but--

TYRA PARRISH: Oh yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Don't go to Thailand get a Thai massage for the first massage of your life.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah, no, I don't know.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Get something at the mall over here. A nice little one. And then--

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah, get the little back machines.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Yeah.

TYRA PARRISH: Start low. That's crazy. But that sounds like a really cool opportunity. Just global industrial hygiene is so different from country specific stuff. Yeah. And I really like how they centered the folks in the community of like, OK, yeah, we talked about this stuff. But now we're excited to go see and experience it and also speak to folks.

And there's even privilege in that, where it's like, you have the ability to move yourself out of it. Because you're only there for X amount of time. But it's also really a dope learning opportunity of like, this is like, we just talked about all this stuff, but then this is the reality of it. And then you're also understanding all these additional extra things in addition to the work exposure. It's like, oh, well actually, like you said, it's really humid here, too. So it's speaking about hydration and stuff like that in addition to whatever work exposure you're having, so.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And it put me in check also, because I'm going in there. I can even see the privilege that I have, one, coming from the Western world.

TYRA PARRISH: Right

ALDO MUÑOZ: Coming from my experience at Berkeley.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And coming with the knowledge and experience I have of even just-- even though it's limited, it's only a few years now, of industrial hygiene and the sciences. But just knowing that I have that, how can I not only provide but also make sure I can pass along this information to these folks actually working with people out in here, specifically in Asia?

And that's the focus of the Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network. Garrett, I love what he says where he doesn't just want to provide health and safety support, knowledge, and expertise, technical experience, technical information to these organizations, but he wants to teach them how to fish. So not only just provide fish to them, but have them make it sustainable.

So that's where we go back again when we spoke in the beginning where, how can we package this in a way that is sustainable for these communities, for these people, for these workers, for unions, leadership, whatever it may be, where they can keep that going? And advocate for themselves with this knowledge that we're able to, one, understand, and two, have access to, because this access isn't available for everyone.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So that's one big important thing that I realized also at the conference, was that.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah. Me and you are on the same wavelength. Because when you said the fish, I was like yeah, it's like you teach in the-- you fish for somebody. I don't know it word for word, because I'm pretty bad at analogies. But I know it's what you talked about, where it's like we do it for someone, they'll never learn. But if you teach them how to do it themselves and you feed them or you teach them for a lifetime. And you hope that they return the favor for the next person.

Which is what you're doing actually in this podcast. Because you're teaching people a lot to fish. They're going to be great fishermen everywhere, every ocean. So I also want to take a moment and pause and first congratulate you on securing your post-grad employment. You touched on it. But I think if you have the time. Or I guess we're winding down, but if you want to talk a little bit more about how you got that position, what is your position?

Then also just talking about if you had to do any type of salary negotiations or even just discussing the salary ranges just in the field of IH in general. Just so people can get some perspective on that, especially because you're post-grad doing that.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Yeah, so my position is an industrial hygiene consultant.

TYRA PARRISH: OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And-- or is it consultant? Yeah, consultant specialist, because there's different levels.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: I think their bottom level is maybe junior consultant over specialist, or something like that.

TYRA PARRISH: OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So that gives you an idea coming up with the master's degree in industrial hygiene, maybe. Get that bottom level.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Level two specialist or something. But the salary, most from-- I get lots of applications. Not a lot.

TYRA PARRISH: It's-- whatever you can remember to be helpful. Essentially just for--

ALDO MUÑOZ: I was applying and applying. So I put them into three buckets. One is government, two is consulting, and three working for industry. So let's say you'd be working for Chevron.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: It seemed like government was more so the lower paid positions, especially starting out.

TYRA PARRISH: Wow.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Some of them would be, $60,000-- $50,000 and $60,000 and $75,000 starting out. Going into consulting and some other types of industry, I'd say the average was about in the 80s. 75 to 80s. And then some of these are industry. Some of these companies starting out in the 90s. You could easily do something for right at six digits.

So my position, when I secured it, they offered $80,000.

TYRA PARRISH: OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And I did negotiate. And my main negotiation was just talking about the average that I was seeing for that same type of section of jobs that I was looking at. And then also very expensive, though.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And I just ran the numbers. Because my big thing is that 30% rent to income salary ratio, which is 30% of your income should be going to rent.

TYRA PARRISH: OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And I ran the numbers. Yo, I paid 2G's for my apartment, right?

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Again, this area is expensive.

TYRA PARRISH: Yes.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So running the numbers, I was like, that puts me exactly at 30%. Let's see if I can make it a little better.

TYRA PARRISH: Right.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So I did get back to them. And they were able to make it $88,000.

TYRA PARRISH: OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Which is wonderful.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: It put me just under that 30%. And then 30%, that's the bare minimum.

TYRA PARRISH: Right.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Is recommended for that ratio. So I'm very happy with it. Definitely in that pocket that I was looking at. But again, those buckets of types of industry of industrial hygiene, some are low, some are a lot higher. But it's a starting point, right? You can only grow from here.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So very happy about the situation that I've come to. And something that I don't think we even mentioned in this podcast, but-- I'm sorry if you could hear the construction next door.

TYRA PARRISH: No. No, it's all good.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Something that's wonderful about this program is that it is funded. Didn't even know about that applying into it. So it was a nice surprise.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And tuition is covered. They provide a stipend. And I absolutely wouldn't have been able to attend here and live in this area if there weren't financial assistance. So there are barely any industrial hygienists out in this world in the United States.

TYRA PARRISH: Very true.

ALDO MUÑOZ: There's more job than people. So it's a wonderful field to come into, especially for these people that want to help expand it.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Couldn't talk more wonders about industrial hygiene occupational health and safety. And so many opportunities.

TYRA PARRISH: Oh, literally. Yeah. When you said that the government was the lowest, that is so backwards and medical field, right? Where it's like he had government job as any type of medicine thing, you're set for life. Because they just pay you more. But it's just crazy that the reverse is not true. Only because hospitals are only as good as folks like industrial hygienists who are making sure people are safe when they're doing their work. So that's shocking.

But you're right. The program at Berkeley is fully funded. They're now doing the STEER program and a lot of different-- the STEER program, for those who don't know, is the COEH Department, it's basically, I would say, like a matching program where students were interested in the field of OEHS. Particularly those who are from underrepresented communities who are interested in getting into the field, they can apply to this summer paid-- I would call it like an internship. I feel like it's more of a practicum because you're actually doing the work.

But you get paired with faculty at Berkeley. And you just get just immersed in it. And it's really cool, because it's paid. And that's a really big thing. And some of them are remote, some of them you do have to be in person, which could pose challenges. I feel like they offer summer housing sometimes, but not quite sure on that. But it's a really cool opportunity if you want to--

ALDO MUÑOZ: No, and then also other things that are fully funded in terms of the-- if the funding comes from NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health-- got that one.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah. I was like, that one, you better know. And OSHA.

ALDO MUÑOZ: So NIOSH is a part of the CDC.

TYRA PARRISH: Yes.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Funding comes from there. Not only is there the industrial hygiene in this program for COEH. But there's ergonomics, Ergo.

TYRA PARRISH: Yes.

ALDO MUÑOZ: There there are the occupational nurses, occupational health nurses. And then if you're already a doctor or a physician, there is the OcMed path. But there's all these different ways to get into occupational health and safety. Not just industrial hygiene. There's Ergo and all those other opportunities, too.

TYRA PARRISH: Right. I'm really glad you said that, because I forgot about the other cool branches. So I got the right person.

So sadly, we're going to have to come to an end this amazing conversation. So Aldo, I want to thank you for being open and honest and for just really just being very clear and frank about the field. And also just being encouraging also to folks who maybe don't think that their major or what they want to do can fit in IH. IH is so big. And yeah, I just really appreciate just being honest about it's not just one path, there's multiple paths.

So I want to also end with some questions about self-care and any closing thoughts you wanted to share. So the first question is, how do you handle burnout or moments where you're overwhelmed? In your leadership roles, or just as you were maybe balancing being a student or even now, how did you handle that? Or were there any things you did weekly or daily that helped you push through those tough moments?

ALDO MUÑOZ: So in terms of handling burnout, I'd say one, hang out with my wife. That's always helpful. Just putting things down. Hanging out with my dog. We've got a big pit bull, so love him.

TYRA PARRISH: Awesome.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Bringing it back, right? Food.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah Food, yes.

ALDO MUÑOZ: We were just talking right before we hit record, I was talking about now that I ain't got anything to do, I'm sitting on the couch when I'm bored, it's like, you know, I'll just start cooking.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

[LAUGHS]

ALDO MUÑOZ: Just make something, look up some recipe and make it. So that's one big thing. I'm always tuning out and just making some food. I find that therapeutic.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: I collect lots of records. So I like to DJ. So throw out all the music. Play something here and there.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Just hanging out with friends from Berkeley. Being in this area, coming from San Diego, didn't necessarily know anyone up here. And just lucky enough I found such great community specifically within the industrial hygiene cohort.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Also just everyone in the Environmental Health Sciences program knew everyone else.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Just amazing. Other faculty members going out and just, again, having lunch. And maybe Garrett. Having a beer with another faculty member just hanging out with other people. So it's that community. It's everything around that comes with it.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: That really helps lead me through it.

TYRA PARRISH: I was like, we always meet up and that's the, like-- oh, let's go Happy Hour.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Exactly. So that's my that's my big thing. Other people and my food and records. That's all I do.

TYRA PARRISH: I mean, that sounds like a good time to me. That's a great way to help burnout. But yeah, thank you so much for being here and for sharing your wisdom. And maybe we'll follow up after to see how the consulting is going, because I feel like that's also a very new niche area that a lot of people are thinking of doing. I personally don't have a strong understanding of consulting. So maybe--

ALDO MUÑOZ: Oh, good. Me neither.

TYRA PARRISH: Oh, so we just--

ALDO MUÑOZ: It's all new to me, too. So I'm excited to learn. That's number one. The thing that they do provide is that breadth of experience.

TYRA PARRISH: OK.

ALDO MUÑOZ: And it's something that's so important I believe as an early industrial hygienist, right. Anyone in occupational and safety, is get out here. Number one thing is to be there. Remember I mentioned it before. So--

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Getting that experience, talking to people. Really get involved. Getting in there deep, that's the most important thing. And that's what consulting provides. So it's very important to me. I'm very happy with the decision I made. I originally didn't think of it when I started. I wanted to go into government. But just learning more about what consulting brought to the table.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Especially very early on into my career.

TYRA PARRISH: Yeah. Wow. Well, I guess that sounds like a follow-up episode is coming, because you're the best person to ask of what was that chip. Well, it's the consulting field. So my mind is thinking. But yeah, I wish you luck. It sounds really dope.

Hopefully we can link up later, because I'll be in the Bay. Yeah. Yeah. All righty. Well, thank you so much. And yeah, stay tuned for the next episode.

ALDO MUÑOZ: Thank you. Had a great time.