Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between environmental technicians and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an environmental technician, becoming an engineering technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an engineering technician has an average salary of $60,273, which is higher than the $39,690 average annual salary of an environmental technician.
The top three skills for an environmental technician include patients, OSHA and hazardous materials. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.
| Environmental Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,690 | $60,273 |
| Hourly rate | $19.08 | $28.98 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 43,079 | 111,343 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 38 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
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.
An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.
Environmental technicians and engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,690 | $60,273 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $51,000 | Between $37,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Danbury, CT | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Washington |
| Best paying company | City of Detroit | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between an environmental technician and an engineering technician in terms of educational background:
| Environmental Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Duke University | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between environmental technicians' and engineering technicians' demographics:
| Environmental Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.3% Female, 26.7% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 6% |