Seismic observer vs data technician

The differences between seismic observers and data 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 seismic observer and a data technician. Additionally, a seismic observer has an average salary of $46,709, which is higher than the $41,834 average annual salary of a data technician.

Seismic observer vs data technician overview

	Seismic Observer	Data Technician
Yearly salary	$46,709	$41,834
Hourly rate	$22.46	$20.11
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	364	101,074
Job satisfaction	4.67	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 27%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	12	12

Seismic observer vs data technician salary

Seismic observers and data technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Seismic Observer	Data Technician
Average salary	$46,709	$41,834
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $85,000	Between $25,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	-	Santa Clara, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Citi
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between seismic observer and data technician education

There are a few differences between a seismic observer and a data technician in terms of educational background:

	Seismic Observer	Data Technician
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 27%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Geology	Business
Most common college	Northeastern University	Stanford University

Seismic observer vs data technician demographics

Here are the differences between seismic observers' and data technicians' demographics:

	Seismic Observer	Data Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9%	Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 11.4% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between seismic observer and data technician duties and responsibilities

Seismic observer example responsibilities.

Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Assist in taking patient medical history and managing clinical patients and participate in medical team discussions regarding patient treatment plans.
Familiarize myself with immunization schedule, coding for pediatrics.

Data technician example responsibilities.

Manage MDF for all incoming, outbound circuits, cross connects and patches
Manage high profile government DOD datacenter relocation projects.
Manage the day-to-day operations of telecommunication services utilize by DuPont.
Manage network reliability, capacity and performance in conjunction with RF engineering establish guidelines.
Assist DTRs with migration from Unix to Linux throughout the stores.
Configure routers, switches, servers, and desktop PCs for usage on the network.

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Seismic Observer
Seismic Observer vs Data Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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