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The differences between water quality technicians and field technician engineers 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 a field technician engineer. Additionally, a field technician engineer has an average salary of $50,370, which is higher than the $39,725 average annual salary of a water quality technician.
The top three skills for a water quality technician include laboratory equipment, data collection and EPA. The most important skills for a field technician engineer are preventive maintenance, technical support, and RF.
| Water Quality Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $39,725 | $50,370 |
| Hourly rate | $19.10 | $24.22 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 70,992 | 73,704 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| 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.
Field service technicians or engineers are engineering professionals who are dispatched to specific locations to perform several tasks such as maintenance, service repairs, and installing electrical and engineering equipment products. These engineers are required to effectively communicate with their customers about their concerns related to equipment maintenance and repair so that they address them immediately. They must travel to customer sites to conduct survey and document existing field conditions and installation accuracy. Field service engineers must also conduct training for service technicians and operators at dealer and customer locations.
Water quality technicians and field technician engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Water Quality Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Average salary | $39,725 | $50,370 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $61,000 | Between $33,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Medtronic |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between a water quality technician and a field technician engineer in terms of educational background:
| Water Quality Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Biology | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between water quality technicians' and field technician engineers' demographics:
| Water Quality Technician | Field Technician Engineer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8% | Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7% |
| 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, 9.7% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 10.4% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |