Environmental laboratory technician vs environmental technician

The differences between environmental laboratory technicians and environmental technicians 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 laboratory technician and an environmental technician. Additionally, an environmental laboratory technician has an average salary of $40,682, which is higher than the $39,690 average annual salary of an environmental technician.

The top three skills for an environmental laboratory technician include lab equipment, water samples and sops. The most important skills for an environmental technician are patients, OSHA, and hazardous materials.

Environmental laboratory technician vs environmental technician overview

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Environmental Technician
Yearly salary	$40,682	$39,690
Hourly rate	$19.56	$19.08
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	58,055	43,079
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

What does an environmental laboratory technician do?

Environmental laboratory technicians are professionals who are responsible for testing all contaminants that may affect the environment and the health of both humans and wildlife. These technicians are required to prepare and test samples such as gases, soils, water, and industrial wastewater to determine the level of pollutants or identify the sources of contamination. They must discuss and report the summary of the data from test results with supervisors and customers. Environmental laboratory technicians must also design monitoring programs and set up equipment when working in the field.

What does an environmental technician do?

An environmental technician is responsible for identifying, evaluating, preventing, and controlling contamination of the environment. They study how it affects human health with the supervision of environmental engineers and environmental scientists. Environmental technicians work by monitoring the environment and look for possible sources of pollution and contamination that can possibly affect public health. They make sure that environmental violations are prevented. In addition, an environmental technician also investigates any complaint that is related to water quality, air quality, and food safety.

Environmental laboratory technician vs environmental technician salary

Environmental laboratory technicians and environmental technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Environmental Technician
Average salary	$40,682	$39,690
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $56,000	Between $30,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	Danbury, CT
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	City of Detroit
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between environmental laboratory technician and environmental technician education

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

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Environmental Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Biology	Environmental Science
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	Duke University

Environmental laboratory technician vs environmental technician demographics

Here are the differences between environmental laboratory technicians' and environmental technicians' demographics:

	Environmental Laboratory Technician	Environmental Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%	Male, 73.3% Female, 26.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between environmental laboratory technician and environmental technician duties and responsibilities

Environmental laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage daily RCRA inspections and mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment preventive/corrective maintenance procedures.
Support short and long term projects meeting establish deadlines such as the upcoming revisions to the USP heavy metals testing.
Initiate and maintain paperwork in accordance with FDA guidelines and perform investigations for any deviant results.
Perform internal audits of laboratories in accordance with current standard operating procedure of good laboratory practices and FDA regulations.
Assist HAZWOPER technicians with logistical support for operations on project operations including research of facilities and vendors need for project completion.
Monitor temperature and pressure of production distillation towers

Environmental technician example responsibilities.

Lead a crew of twelve techs in various archaeological excavations.
Manage designated areas to ensure proper cleanliness and safety.
Manage daily RCRA inspections and mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment preventive/corrective maintenance procedures.
Provide contractor oversight, including monitoring of technical performance of sub-contractors managing remedial cleanup projects involving hazardous waste.
Assist with environmental projects such as groundwater monitoring, and spatial analysis using ArcGIS.
Perform physical labor associate with cleanup activities, sample collection, waste removal and other remediation service.

Environmental laboratory technician vs environmental technician skills

Common environmental laboratory technician skills

Lab Equipment, 9%
Water Samples, 8%
Sops, 6%
Environmental Samples, 6%
Test Equipment, 5%
Environmental Lab, 4%

Common environmental technician skills

Patients, 12%
OSHA, 7%
Hazardous Materials, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Patient Rooms, 5%
HAZWOPER, 4%

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Environmental Laboratory Technician
Environmental Laboratory Technician vs Environmental Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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