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The differences between environmental 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 technician and a field technician engineer. Additionally, a field technician engineer has an average salary of $50,370, 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 a field technician engineer are preventive maintenance, technical support, and RF.
| Environmental Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $39,690 | $50,370 |
| Hourly rate | $19.08 | $24.22 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 43,079 | 73,704 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| 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.
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 technicians and field technician engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Average salary | $39,690 | $50,370 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $51,000 | Between $33,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Danbury, CT | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | City of Detroit | Medtronic |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Energy |
There are a few differences between an environmental technician and a field technician engineer in terms of educational background:
| Environmental Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Duke University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between environmental technicians' and field technician engineers' demographics:
| Environmental Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.3% Female, 26.7% | Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7% |
| 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, 9.7% 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% |