Water quality technician vs surveillance technician

The differences between water quality technicians and surveillance 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 a surveillance technician. Additionally, a surveillance technician has an average salary of $41,279, 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 surveillance technician are ladders, CCTV, and construction sites.

Water quality technician vs surveillance technician overview

	Water Quality Technician	Surveillance Technician
Yearly salary	$39,725	$41,279
Hourly rate	$19.10	$19.85
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	70,992	13,099
Job satisfaction	-	1
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

What does a water quality technician do?

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.

What does a surveillance technician do?

A man without specific skills can't be the perfect man. Surveillance Technician, thus, needs to be tactful. He/She has to possess a wide range of exposure such as technical skills like electrical and video installation knowledge, maintenance skills such as drilling, wiring, cabling, and network administration skills.

Water quality technician vs surveillance technician salary

Water quality technicians and surveillance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Water Quality Technician	Surveillance Technician
Average salary	$39,725	$41,279
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $61,000	Between $30,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between water quality technician and surveillance technician education

There are a few differences between a water quality technician and a surveillance technician in terms of educational background:

	Water Quality Technician	Surveillance Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Water quality technician vs surveillance technician demographics

Here are the differences between water quality technicians' and surveillance technicians' demographics:

	Water Quality Technician	Surveillance Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8%	Male, 81.7% Female, 18.3%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 10.4% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between water quality technician and surveillance technician duties and responsibilities

Water quality technician example responsibilities.

Manage daily RCRA inspections and mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment preventive/corrective maintenance procedures.
Collect and migrate GIS data using field instrumentation such as computers, ArcPad, and GPS units.
Operate GPS to assure coordinates and accuracy of reporting.
Check network connectivity to HVAC units physically and through the end user workstation.
Conduct internal ISO audits of shipping/receiving, inventory, returns management and repair operations.
Verify part conformance to specification of injection mold components according to requirements detail on inspection cards or SPC files.

Surveillance technician example responsibilities.

Manage implementation and networking of multi-million dollar tactical datalink architecture consisting of windows base and proprietary systems.
Manage numerous outdoor storage locations for government ammunition stockpiles while simultaneously providing rapid logistical support to facilitate employee training.
Switch over to digital recording which involve IP addressing cameras, video encoders, hard drive arrays, and Cisco switches.
Maintain hardware and software systems and manual records require to successfully perform stock control accounting procedures for ammunition and explosives.
Maintain physical control over all entrances to the SCIF.
Use of DoD equipment and technologies for surveillance monitoring.

Water quality technician vs surveillance technician skills

Common water quality technician skills

Laboratory Equipment, 16%
Data Collection, 8%
EPA, 7%
GPS, 7%
Water Treatment, 7%
Water Quality Data, 6%

Common surveillance technician skills

Ladders, 10%
CCTV, 8%
Construction Sites, 7%
Surveillance Equipment, 7%
CST, 6%
Security Integrity, 5%

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Water Quality Technician
Water Quality Technician vs Surveillance Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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