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The differences between environmental field technicians and field technician engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an environmental field technician and a field technician engineer. Additionally, a field technician engineer has an average salary of $50,370, which is higher than the $38,450 average annual salary of an environmental field technician.
The top three skills for an environmental field technician include OSHA, data collection and HAZWOPER. The most important skills for a field technician engineer are preventive maintenance, technical support, and RF.
| Environmental Field Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $38,450 | $50,370 |
| Hourly rate | $18.49 | $24.22 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 76,665 | 73,704 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An environmental field technician, often known as an environmental science and protection technician, is an individual who conducts tests on the environment and determines the impact of a potential source of pollutants. Environmental field technicians investigate pollution sources by performing testing of groundwater samples in the field. They must ensure that proper safety procedures and equipment are utilized as well as implement on-site safety procedures to individual company specifications. Environmental field technicians must also coordinate with construction management to ensure that they are following the comprehensive environmental compliance throughout the phases of construction.
Field service technicians or engineers are engineering professionals who are dispatched to specific locations to perform several tasks such as maintenance, service repairs, and installing electrical and engineering equipment products. These engineers are required to effectively communicate with their customers about their concerns related to equipment maintenance and repair so that they address them immediately. They must travel to customer sites to conduct survey and document existing field conditions and installation accuracy. Field service engineers must also conduct training for service technicians and operators at dealer and customer locations.
Environmental field technicians and field technician engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental Field Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Average salary | $38,450 | $50,370 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $48,000 | Between $33,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Medtronic |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between an environmental field technician and a field technician engineer in terms of educational background:
| Environmental Field Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Duke University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between environmental field technicians' and field technician engineers' demographics:
| Environmental Field Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% | Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 10.4% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |