Environmental Science and Protection Technicians

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Duties

Environmental researchers and protectors frequently do the following tasks:

• Make sure there are no environmental, health, or safety issues in any public or private institution.
• Set up and maintain pollution-monitoring systems, including remote sensors for smokestacks.
• Collect air, soil, water, and other samples for testing.
• Ensure the integrity of samples by precisely marking, tracking, and recording their whereabouts.
• Examine samples for pollution or other impurities using microscopes.
• Create graphs and reports from test data.
• Analyze and inform clients
• Observe pollution prevention guidelines.

Many environmental protection and scientific personnel are supervised by environmental scientists and specialists who evaluate their performance. Technicians can work with other scientists or engineers to address environmental and public health challenges. Geoscientists and hydrologists may work together to clean up a former bomb-making plant's contaminated soil and water.

Environmental science and protection technicians usually work for consulting firms, state and local governments, or testing labs.

Environmental science and protection technicians help consultancies with environmental monitoring and compliance. Their services include cleaning dangerous places and reducing, controlling, or eliminating pollution. Environmental science and protection technicians examine the environmental impact of new construction projects.

Environmental scientists and technicians work for state and local governments, assessing businesses and public areas for air, water, and food safety. They may be called upon to enforce environmental regulations. Evaluating new development's environmental and health impacts can help protect the environment and people. They may also inspect hazardous abandoned industrial sites.

Environmental scientists frequently perform experiments similar to those performed by chemists, biologists, or microbiologists at testing facilities. Unlike scientists, environmental science and protection technicians' jobs are closely related to the environment and its influence on human health.

Technicians in environmental research and protection might work in labs or gather samples in the field. Fieldworkers and laboratory technicians both gather samples from the field and work in laboratories.

Education

Environmental science and protection technicians frequently need an associate degree in environmental science, environmental health, or public health. Given the wide range of activities and industries in which these specialists work, some positions require no college education while others do.

Technicians in environmental science and protection need a good scientific background. All pupils should have a solid foundation in these areas. Math, statistics, and computer science classes can assist technicians analyze data and create models.

Several technical and community colleges offer environmental studies or closely related fields like remote sensing or geographic information systems (GISs). Students should select college courses that give hands-on laboratory experience.

Many community colleges offer associate degree programs to prepare students for transfer to public four-year universities.

Training

Hazardous waste technicians often get OSHA-approved training. The training duration for hazardous materials varies based on the object being handled. The training covers PPE, site safety, hazard recognition, and decontamination.

Important traits

Analytical skills Professionals in environmental science and protection must conduct a wide range of tests in both the lab and the outdoors and produce precise results in both circumstances.

Effective communication skills Professionals in environmental research and preservation must have great listening and writing skills. They must also convey their results to colleagues, clients, and the public.

critical thinking skills A strong rationale and sound judgment are required to attain the outcomes. Threats to the environment must be addressed.

Interaction with others. Technicians in environmental research and protection must be able to communicate successfully with scientists and other technicians.

Licenses and certifications

Certain states provide an environmental science and protection technician certification. The National Radon Safety Board certifies radon testers (NRSB).

The National Environmental Health Association provides the REHS/RS certificate (NEHA).

Pay

For environmental science and protection technicians, the May 2020 median annual pay was $46,850. When half of an occupation's workforce earns more than the median wage, the wage is referred to as the "median wage." The bottom 10% made less than $29,280, and the top 10% earned more than $80,530.

Job Projections

As of 2020, employment in environmental science and protection technicians is expected to expand at a greater rate than the average for all occupations.