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The differences between environmental 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 an environmental technician and an environmental field technician. Additionally, an environmental technician has an average salary of $39,690, which is higher than the $38,450 average annual salary of an environmental field technician.
The top three skills for an environmental technician include patients, OSHA and hazardous materials. The most important skills for an environmental field technician are OSHA, data collection, and HAZWOPER.
| Environmental Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,690 | $38,450 |
| Hourly rate | $19.08 | $18.49 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 43,079 | 76,665 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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 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.
Environmental technicians and environmental field technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,690 | $38,450 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $51,000 | Between $30,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Danbury, CT | - |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | - |
| Best paying company | City of Detroit | - |
| Best paying industry | Energy | - |
There are a few differences between an environmental technician and an environmental field technician in terms of educational background:
| Environmental Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Environmental Science |
| Most common college | Duke University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between environmental technicians' and environmental field technicians' demographics:
| Environmental Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.3% Female, 26.7% | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% |
| 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, 9.4% 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% |