Job description
Environmental field technicians are responsible for conducting tests on the environmental impact of a potential source of pollutants. They typically test soil, water, and air to prevent environmental degradation and expose public health threats. They must be familiar with state and local environmental laws to identify violations. Environmental field technicians are employed by various agencies, companies, and other firms to gather data they can use to monitor pollution. The environmental field technician investigates the sources, prepares reports, and communicates findings to the company or agency. They must be familiar with relevant equipment such as air sampling monitors, microscopes, sound level meters, water pumps, and lead sampling kits.
Environmental field technicians must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, research and investigative skills, and good reading comprehension skills to understand work-related documents. They need to be critical thinkers and be able to work independently or as part of a team. The ability to convey information factually and clearly to engineers or team leaders is critical. Observational skills are also important in this role.
Sample job description
Average salary and compensation
The average salary for an environmental field technician is $41,850 in the United States. Position salary will vary based on experience, education, company size, industry, and market.
| Location | Salary Low | Salary High |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, Arizona | $41,600 | $56,300 |
| Los Angeles, California | $46,950 | $63,550 |
| Denver, Colorado | $39,150 | $52,950 |
| Washington, DC | $47,650 | $64,500 |
| Miami, Florida | $38,950 | $52,700 |
| Orlando, Florida | $35,950 | $48,600 |
| Tampa, Florida | $36,300 | $49,100 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | $38,050 | $51,500 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $43,750 | $59,200 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | $47,300 | $64,000 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota | $37,700 | $51,000 |
| New York City, New York | $49,800 | $67,400 |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $40,550 | $54,850 |
| Dallas, Texas | $39,500 | $53,400 |
| Houston, Texas | $39,150 | $52,950 |
| Seattle, Washington | $45,550 | $61,600 |
| National Average | $35,550 | $48,150 |
Sample interview questions
- Tell me how you go about organizing and prioritizing your workday.
- What makes you want to be an environmental field technician?
- Have you applied new technology or methodology recently? What was the result?
- Would you consider analyzing and organizing data a strength of yours?
- How would you go about collecting and analyzing a sample from start to finish?
- Can you describe a time in which you struggled to perform your job? What was the cause and what was the resolution?
- Would you consider yourself a team-oriented performer or do you prefer to work alone?
- Can you share a time in which you’ve isolated, identified, and prepared specimens for examination?
