Environmental Field Technician
Impact: Environmental protection and public health
Monitors the environment for pollution, collects samples of air, soil, and water, and conducts tests to identify and track contamination sources.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 60% Team / 40% Solo
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- 20-40% local/regional
- Schedule flexibility
- Structured
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 40-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $49,490
- Entry-level
- $35,000 - $45,000
- Senior
- $65,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 4% (as fast as average)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- Moderate to 40-60% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- Minimal
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Environmental sampling
- Data collection
- Laboratory testing
- Equipment operation
- GIS
- Regulatory compliance
- Report preparation
Soft skills
- Observation skills
- Critical thinking
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Attention to detail
Technical complexity: Moderate
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Associate's Degree
- Licensing
- Varies by State
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 7-10 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Environmental Field Technician
- Senior Environmental Field Technician
- Environmental Scientist/Specialist
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 30% to moderate risk due to data collection and analysis automation
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.2/10
- Meaning
- 3.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 3/10
- Prestige
- 5.5/10
- Social perception
- High