Decontamination technician vs environmental field technician

The differences between decontamination technicians and environmental field technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a decontamination technician and an environmental field technician. Additionally, a decontamination technician has an average salary of $44,291, which is higher than the $38,450 average annual salary of an environmental field technician.

The top three skills for a decontamination technician include papr, safety procedures and PPE. The most important skills for an environmental field technician are OSHA, data collection, and HAZWOPER.

Decontamination technician vs environmental field technician overview

	Decontamination Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Yearly salary	$44,291	$38,450
Hourly rate	$21.29	$18.49
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	28,108	76,665
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Decontamination technician vs environmental field technician salary

Decontamination technicians and environmental field technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Decontamination Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Average salary	$44,291	$38,450
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $69,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Newton, MA	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	Battelle	-
Best paying industry	Energy	-

Differences between decontamination technician and environmental field technician education

There are a few differences between a decontamination technician and an environmental field technician in terms of educational background:

	Decontamination Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Business	Environmental Science
Most common college	-	Duke University

Decontamination technician vs environmental field technician demographics

Here are the differences between decontamination technicians' and environmental field technicians' demographics:

	Decontamination Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 69.6% Female, 30.4%	Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 8.9% White, 58.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between decontamination technician and environmental field technician duties and responsibilities

Decontamination technician example responsibilities.

Concrete crushing, demolition, and wrecking of commercial buildings, apartments, and homes.
Assign with ALARA for lead shielding projects.
Monitor NRC license compliance and support inspections.
Set up ladders, scaffolds and hoists.
Perform decontamination of a sand blast booth using a HEPA vacuum cleaner.
Design, maintain, install, and replace rectifiers and grind beds.

Environmental field technician example responsibilities.

Provide contractor oversight, including monitoring of technical performance of sub-contractors managing remedial cleanup projects involving hazardous waste.
Complete field forms, draw sketch maps, profiles and plan view field drawings.
Identify and correct safety shortfalls in confine space entry, explosive atmosphere, and fall protection to ensure OSHA compliance.
Create sketch maps of artifact distribution, and site features.
Read topographic maps in addition to using hand hold and tablet base GPS units.
Insulate and push copper thru a chase along with ac wire and drain line.

Decontamination technician vs environmental field technician skills

Common decontamination technician skills

Papr, 14%
Safety Procedures, 13%
PPE, 12%
Hazardous Materials, 10%
Radioactive Waste, 7%
Hazardous Waste, 6%

Common environmental field technician skills

OSHA, 11%
Data Collection, 9%
HAZWOPER, 9%
Safety Procedures, 7%
Hand Tools, 6%
GPS, 5%

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Decontamination Technician
Decontamination Technician vs Environmental Field Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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