Work conditions range from clean and pleasant indoor offices and laboratories to hot, cold, wet, bad-smelling, noisy, or even hazardous settings outdoors. Anyone planning a career in environmental technology should realize the possibility of exposure to unpleasant or unsafe conditions at least occasionally in his or her career. Employers often can minimize these negatives through special equipment and procedures. Most laboratories and manufacturing companies have safety procedures for potentially dangerous situations.
Some jobs involve vigorous physical activity, such as handling a small boat or climbing a tall ladder. For the most part, technicians need only to be prepared for moderate activity. Travel may be required; technicians go to urban, industrial, or rural settings for sampling. The states with the highest level of employment of environmental science and protection technicians are California, Texas, Florida, New York, and North Carolina, according to the Department of Labor.
Because their job can involve a considerable amount of repetitive work, patience and the ability to handle routine are important. Yet, particularly when environmental technicians are working in the field, they also have to be ready to use their resourcefulness and ingenuity to find the best ways of responding to new situations.
- Agricultural Scientists
- Air Quality Engineers
- Aquarists
- Arborists
- Astrogeologists
- Biochemists
- Bioenergy/Biofuels Workers
- Biofuels Processing Technicians
- Biofuels Production Managers
- Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers
- Biologists
- Biomass Plant Technicians
- Biomass Power Plant Managers
- Botanists
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers
- Business Managers
- Cartographers
- Chemists
- Chief Sustainability Officers
- Civil Engineers
- Climate Scientists
- Corporate Climate Strategists
- Ecologists
- Energy Brokers
- Energy Conservation Technicians
- Energy Consultants
- Engineering Technicians
- Environmental Consultants
- Environmental Economists
- Environmental Education Program Directors
- Environmental Engineers
- Environmental Lawyers
- Environmental Lobbyists
- Environmental Planners
- Environmental Restoration Planners
- Environmental Scientists
- EPA Special Agents
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Forensic Meteorologists
- Foresters
- Forestry Technicians
- Fuel Cell Engineers
- Fuel Cell Technicians
- Fuel Cell Technology Workers
- Futurists
- Geodetic Surveyors
- Geographers
- Geographic Information Systems Specialists
- Geological Technicians
- Geologists
- Geophysicists
- Geospatial Analytics Specialists
- Geotechnical Engineers
- Geothermal Energy Industry Workers
- Geothermal Production Managers
- Geothermal Technicians
- Green Builders
- Green Hotel/Resort Ecomanagers
- Green Products Manufacturers
- Green Transportation Careers
- Groundwater Professionals
- Hazardous Waste Management Specialists
- Hazardous Waste Management Technicians
- Horticultural Inspectors
- Horticultural Technicians
- Hydroelectric Plant Technicians
- Hydroelectric Production Managers
- Hydropower and Marine Energy Industry Workers
- Indoor Environmental Health Specialists
- Industrial Ecologists
- Land Acquisition Professionals
- Land Trust or Preserve Managers
- Landscape Architects
- Marine Biologists
- Meteorologists
- Methane/Landfill Gas Collection System Operators
- Methane/Landfill Gas Generation System Technicians
- Microbiologists
- Molecular and Cellular Biologists
- National Park Service Employees
- Naturalists
- Oceanographers
- Paleontologists
- Park Rangers
- Range Managers
- Recycling and Reclamation Workers
- Recycling Coordinators
- Refuse Collectors
- Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists
- Remote Sensing Technicians
- Renewable Energy Careers
- Renewable Energy Engineers
- Renewable Energy Site Assessors
- Rewilders
- Soil Conservationists and Technicians
- Soil Scientists
- Solar Energy Industry Workers
- Solar Energy Installation Managers
- Solar Energy Sales Representatives
- Solar Engineers
- Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians
- Space Meteorologist
- Surveying and Mapping Technicians
- Surveyors
- Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators and Technicians
- Water/Wastewater Engineers
- Wind Energy Engineers
- Wind Energy Industry Workers
- Wind Energy Operations Managers
- Wind Energy Project Managers
- Zoo and Aquarium Curators and Directors
- Zoologists