Solid waste technician vs environmental field technician

The differences between solid waste 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 a solid waste technician and an environmental field technician. Additionally, a solid waste technician has an average salary of $49,561, which is higher than the $38,450 average annual salary of an environmental field technician.

Solid waste technician vs environmental field technician overview

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Yearly salary	$49,561	$38,450
Hourly rate	$23.83	$18.49
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	11,925	76,665
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

Solid waste technician vs environmental field technician salary

Solid waste technicians and environmental field technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Average salary	$49,561	$38,450
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $83,000	Between $30,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between solid waste technician and environmental field technician education

There are a few differences between a solid waste technician and an environmental field technician in terms of educational background:

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Accounting	Environmental Science
Most common college	SUNY Farmingdale	Duke University

Solid waste technician vs environmental field technician demographics

Here are the differences between solid waste technicians' and environmental field technicians' demographics:

	Solid Waste Technician	Environmental Field Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8%	Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 9.8% White, 57.6% 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%

Differences between solid waste technician and environmental field technician duties and responsibilities

Solid waste technician example responsibilities.

Provide cleaning services for bio-hazard recovery including homicides and suicides following appropriate regulatory waste standards and OSHA requirements.
Operate automated and semi-automate hoisting devices.

Environmental field technician example responsibilities.

Provide contractor oversight, including monitoring of technical performance of sub-contractors managing remedial cleanup projects involving hazardous waste.
Complete field forms, draw sketch maps, profiles and plan view field drawings.
Identify and correct safety shortfalls in confine space entry, explosive atmosphere, and fall protection to ensure OSHA compliance.
Create sketch maps of artifact distribution, and site features.
Read topographic maps in addition to using hand hold and tablet base GPS units.
Insulate and push copper thru a chase along with ac wire and drain line.

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Solid Waste Technician
Solid Waste Technician vs Environmental Field Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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