How To Become An Environmental Laboratory Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is an environmental laboratory technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Environmental laboratory technicians collaborate with scientists and engineers to monitor indoor and outdoor environments to prevent environmental hazards or contaminants. They are employed by consulting companies, non-profit organizations, or government agencies. Their job involves collecting samples of soil, air, and water and testing them in the laboratory. Sometimes, they may be tasked with assessing future construction sites to ensure they are not contaminated before construction begins. Likewise, they assess the impact of the construction on the environment. After analysis, they report their findings to stakeholders.

Primarily, you can get this role with an associate's degree. However, some employers prefer a bachelor's degree in environmental sciences or a related field. In some states, you'd be required to have a license to perform certain job duties. Applicants must have communication, teamwork, and analytical skills. You must also be proficient in Microsoft Office. They earn about $41,119 yearly, which falls between $28,000 and $59,000.

ScoreEnvironmental Laboratory TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,682

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.04%

Asian 10.45%

Black or African American 9.52%

Hispanic or Latino 16.84%

Unknown 5.85%

White 56.29%

Gender

female 39.08%

male 60.92%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an environmental laboratory technician

Explore environmental laboratory technician education requirements

Most common environmental laboratory technician degrees

Bachelor's

66.0 %

Associate

23.2 %

Master's

4.4 %

Start to develop specific environmental laboratory technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Lab Equipment	8.98%
Water Samples	8.37%
Sops	5.96%
Environmental Samples	5.66%
Test Equipment	4.70%

Complete relevant environmental laboratory technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmental laboratory technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an environmental laboratory technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental laboratory technician resumes.

Research environmental laboratory technician duties and 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.

Prepare your environmental laboratory technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental laboratory technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an environmental laboratory technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable environmental laboratory technician resume templates

Build a professional environmental laboratory technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your environmental laboratory technician resume.