Geoscience technician vs section plotter operator

The differences between geoscience technicians and section plotter operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a geoscience technician and a section plotter operator. Additionally, a geoscience technician has an average salary of $77,535, which is higher than the $49,656 average annual salary of a section plotter operator.

Geoscience technician vs section plotter operator overview

	Geoscience Technician	Section Plotter Operator
Yearly salary	$77,535	$49,656
Hourly rate	$37.28	$23.87
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	6,450	26,642
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	12	12

Geoscience technician vs section plotter operator salary

Geoscience technicians and section plotter operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Geoscience Technician	Section Plotter Operator
Average salary	$77,535	$49,656
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $107,000	Between $32,000 And $75,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between geoscience technician and section plotter operator education

There are a few differences between a geoscience technician and a section plotter operator in terms of educational background:

	Geoscience Technician	Section Plotter Operator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Geology	Business
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	University of Pennsylvania

Geoscience technician vs section plotter operator demographics

Here are the differences between geoscience technicians' and section plotter operators' demographics:

	Geoscience Technician	Section Plotter Operator
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9%	Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 10.1% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between geoscience technician and section plotter operator duties and responsibilities

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.

Section plotter operator example responsibilities.

Manage Autodesk accounts and train drafters and field crews as well.
Operate tree farmer C4 and C5 skidder.
Determine scales, line sizes, or colors to be used for hard copies of computerize maps, using plotters.
Assign to develop complete working drawings, including architectural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing documents for countrywide restaurants.
Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths using chainsaws and axes.
keep up with load count stump an buck tree load logs on to trucks sharpen chainsaws.

Geoscience technician vs section plotter operator skills

Common geoscience technician skills

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

Common section plotter operator skills

Geoscience Technician vs. similar jobs

Geoscience Technician related careers

Geoscience Technician related jobs

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Geoscience Technician
Geoscience Technician vs Section Plotter Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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