Environmental Science & Protection Technicians, Including Health
Environmental Technician (Environmental Tech), Laboratory Technician, Public Health Sanitarian, Sanitarian
What they do:
Perform laboratory and field tests to monitor the environment and investigate sources of pollution, including those that affect health, under the direction of an environmental scientist, engineer, or other specialist. May collect samples of gases, soil, water, and other materials for testing.
On the job, you would:
- Discuss test results and analyses with customers.
- Record test data and prepare reports, summaries, or charts that interpret test results.
- Develop or implement programs for monitoring of environmental pollution or radiation.
Knowledge
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Math and Science
- biology
- arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
Safety and Government
- law and government
- public safety and security
Business
- customer service
Skills
Basic Skills
- listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
- reading work related information
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
- thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
- figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Abilities
Verbal
- listen and understand what people say
- read and understand what is written
Ideas and Logic
- notice when problems happen
- use rules to solve problems
Math
- add, subtract, multiply, or divide
- choose the right type of math to solve a problem
Visual Understanding
- quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things
Personality
People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Analytical Thinking
- Initiative
- Adaptability/Flexibility
Technology
You might use software like this on the job:
Geographic information system
- ESRI ArcGIS software
- ESRI ArcView
Video creation and editing software
- YouTube
Analytical or scientific software
- HEC-RAS
- Visual OTTHYMO
Education
Education: (rated 4 of 5)
bachelor's degree or
associate's degree
usually needed
associate's degree
usually needed
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future.
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about environmental science and protection technicians, including health.