OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Apply theory and principles of environmental engineering to modify, test, and operate equipment and devices used in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental problems, including waste treatment and site remediation, under the direction of engineering staff or scientists. May assist in the development of environmental remediation devices.
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Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Environmental engineering technologists and technicians typically do the following:
- Set up, test, operate, and modify equipment used to prevent or clean up environmental pollution
- Maintain project records and computer program files
- Collect and analyze samples, such as of ground water, for monitoring pollution or treatment
- Review documents to ensure that they are complete and conform to reporting requirements
- Review work plans to schedule activities
- Arrange for the disposal of asbestos, lead, and other hazardous materials
Environmental engineering technologists and technicians work both indoors and outdoors help to ensure environmental quality. Their tasks aid environmental engineers in developing solutions to control, prevent, and mitigate damage caused by pollution and other environmental problems.
In laboratories, environmental engineering technologists and technicians record observations and test results and document photographs. To keep laboratories supplied, they also may gather product information, identify vendors and suppliers, and order materials and equipment.
In the field, environmental engineering technologists and technicians may collect air, soil, or ground and surface water samples of an area. They also prepare and clean equipment, operate field sampling pumps, and monitor instruments.
They also may inspect facilities for compliance with regulations governing substances such as asbestos, lead, and wastewater.
Salary
Median salary: $51,630 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $39,330 and $67,100.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for engineering technologists and technicians
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of environmental engineering technologists and technicians who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Responsible for Others' Health (72%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (50%)
- Consequence of Error (46%)
- Time Pressure (42%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Communication skills
When working on teams, environmental engineering technologists and technicians must listen attentively and convey information to others.
Critical-thinking skills
Environmental engineers rely on technologists and technicians to help identify problems and solutions and to implement the engineers’ plans.
Observational skills
Environmental engineering technologists and technicians must be able to evaluate situations, recognize problems, and inform environmental engineers as quickly as possible.
Problem-solving skills
Environmental engineering technologists and technicians implement plans designed by environmental engineers. They must be able to resolve issues that arise, such as unexpected findings during fieldwork.
Reading skills
Environmental engineering technologists and technicians must be able to understand legal and technical documents in order to ensure that regulations are being met.
Injury and Illness
About 98 environmental engineering technologists and technicians become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 80% of other careers.
All injuries and illnesses
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by environmental engineering technologists and technicians
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), environmental engineering technologists and technicians typically hold a associate's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as engineering technologists and technicians as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for environmental engineering technologists and technicians
Prospective environmental engineering technologists and technicians should take science and math courses in high school to prepare for postsecondary programs in engineering technology.
Employers usually prefer to hire candidates who have completed ABET-accredited postsecondary programs. Although some candidates may be hired with a high school diploma and postsecondary coursework, environmental engineering technologists and technicians typically need an associate’s degree in environmental engineering technology or a related field to enter the occupation.
Associate degree programs in environmental engineering technology are available in community colleges and vocational–technical schools. These programs generally include courses in chemistry, environmental assessment, hazardous-waste management, and mathematics. Some environmental engineering technologists and technicians enter the occupation with a bachelor’s degree.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for environmental engineering technologists and technicians
Some states require environmental technologists and technicians to have permits or licenses to remove hazardous waste. Workers also may be required to have Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (HAZWOPER) certification. HAZWOPER certification includes training in health hazards, personal protective equipment, site safety, recognizing and identifying hazards, and decontamination. Refresher training may be required to maintain certification.
Education level of Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Only 20% of engineering technologists and technicians have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by engineering technologists and technicians
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
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Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Program
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Engineering Technologists and Technicians per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most environmental engineering technologists and technicians? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as environmental engineering technologists and technicians. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where environmental engineering technologists and technicians earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for engineering technologists and technicians compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for engineering technologists and technicians.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which engineering technologists and technicians earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Engineering Technologists and Technicians (ACS for all specialties)
Employment
8% of Engineering technologists and technicians are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 8% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 64% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of engineering technologists and technicians by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Engineering technologists and technicians and gender
With 19% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 67% of careers.
Gender of Engineering technologists and technicians
Men (81%)
Women (19%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median (middle) salary for all full-time male workers
in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%, and the difference
for engineering technologists and technicians tops that, with the median salary for
men 26% higher than the median
salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Engineering technologists and technicians
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Engineering technologists and technicians.
Race/origin of engineering technologists and technicians
White (75% )
Black (9% )
Asian (8% )
Other (3% )
Multiracial (3% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
