Field observer vs geoscience technician

The differences between field observers and geoscience technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a field observer and a geoscience technician. Additionally, a geoscience technician has an average salary of $77,535, which is higher than the $40,890 average annual salary of a field observer.

The top three skills for a field observer include mathematics, grade class and classroom management. The most important skills for a geoscience technician are data management, petra, and GIS.

Field observer vs geoscience technician overview

	Field Observer	Geoscience Technician
Yearly salary	$40,890	$77,535
Hourly rate	$19.66	$37.28
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	45,105	6,450
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	12	12

Field observer vs geoscience technician salary

Field observers and geoscience technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Field Observer	Geoscience Technician
Average salary	$40,890	$77,535
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $69,000	Between $55,000 And $107,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between field observer and geoscience technician education

There are a few differences between a field observer and a geoscience technician in terms of educational background:

	Field Observer	Geoscience Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Education	Geology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Field observer vs geoscience technician demographics

Here are the differences between field observers' and geoscience technicians' demographics:

	Field Observer	Geoscience Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 50.5% Female, 49.5%	Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between field observer and geoscience technician duties and responsibilities

Field observer example responsibilities.

Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Acquire hand to hand combat and defense techniques used solely for the purpose of last resort when all else fails.
Establish and maintain appropriate systems to monitor, evaluate and report on all operational activities including logistics and program implementation.
Familiarize myself with immunization schedule, coding for pediatrics.

Geoscience technician example responsibilities.

Manage data input by various methods of scanning, downloading, and digitizing.
Generate base maps using Amoco implementation of ARC/INFO GIS software.
Create prospect, seismic, lease and field maps in ArcMap.
Used GIS applications for display of spatial layers and associate data tables.
Supervise and delegate work to contract, clerical, and geotechnical personnel.
Support geologists and geophysicists with GeoGraphix project updates, imports and exports.

Field observer vs geoscience technician skills

Common field observer skills

Mathematics, 47%
Grade Class, 32%
Classroom Management, 20%

Common geoscience technician skills

Data Management, 14%
Petra, 12%
GIS, 10%
QC, 8%
Log Data, 6%
Petrel, 6%

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Field Observer vs Geoscience Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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