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The differences between water quality 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 water quality technician and an environmental field technician. Additionally, a water quality technician has an average salary of $39,725, which is higher than the $38,450 average annual salary of an environmental field technician.
The top three skills for a water quality technician include laboratory equipment, data collection and EPA. The most important skills for an environmental field technician are OSHA, data collection, and HAZWOPER.
| Water Quality Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,725 | $38,450 |
| Hourly rate | $19.10 | $18.49 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 70,992 | 76,665 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Water quality technicians are tasked with monitoring and testing water supplies and ensuring that a particular body of water is safe. They perform various duties, which include sampling, inspecting, and testing water. They work with surface and groundwater sources. They evaluate and report the condition and features of various water samples and sources. The main goal of this job is to ensure public safety, environmental sustainability, and data integrity.
An environmental field technician, often known as an environmental science and protection technician, is an individual who conducts tests on the environment and determines the impact of a potential source of pollutants. Environmental field technicians investigate pollution sources by performing testing of groundwater samples in the field. They must ensure that proper safety procedures and equipment are utilized as well as implement on-site safety procedures to individual company specifications. Environmental field technicians must also coordinate with construction management to ensure that they are following the comprehensive environmental compliance throughout the phases of construction.
Water quality technicians and environmental field technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Water Quality Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,725 | $38,450 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $61,000 | Between $30,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a water quality technician and an environmental field technician in terms of educational background:
| Water Quality Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Biology | Environmental Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Duke University |
Here are the differences between water quality technicians' and environmental field technicians' demographics:
| Water Quality Technician | Environmental Field Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8% | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 10.2% White, 57.2% 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% |