Environmental Science and Protection Technician

1

• Environmental Science and Protection Technician

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
2
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Overview
• Environmental science and protection technicians
  perform laboratory and field tests to monitor
  environmental resources and determine the
  contaminants and sources of pollution in the
  environment.
• They may collect samples for testing or be
  involved in abating and controlling sources of
  environmental pollution.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
3
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Overview (continued)
• Some are responsible for waste management
  operations, control and management of hazardous
  materials inventory, or general activities
  involving regulatory compliance.
• Many environmental science technicians employed
  at private consulting firms work directly under
  the supervision of an environmental scientist.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
4
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Preparation
• Most science technicians need an associate degree
  or a certificate in applied science or
  science-related technology. Science technicians
  with a high school diploma and no college degree
  typically begin work as trainees under the direct
  supervision of a more experienced technician, and
  eventually earn a 2-year degree in science
  technology.
• Many employers prefer applicants who have at
  least 2 years of specialized training or an
  associate degree in applied science or
  science-related technology.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
5
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Preparation (continued)
• Graduates of bachelors degree programs in
  science who have considerable experience in
  laboratory-based courses, have completed
  internships, or have held summer jobs in
  laboratories also are well qualified for science
  technician positions and are preferred by some
  employers.
• Many technical and community colleges offer
  associate degrees in a specific technology or
  more general education in science and
  mathematics.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
6
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Preparation (continued)
• A number of associate degree programs are
  designed to provide easy transfer to bachelors
  degree programs at colleges or universities.
• Some schools offer cooperative-education or
  internship programs, allowing students the
  opportunity to work at a local company or some
  other workplace while attending classes during
  alternate terms.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
7
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Day in the Life
• Environmental science and protection technicians,
  perform much of their work outdoors, sometimes in
  remote locations. However, science technicians
  work under a wide variety of conditions.
• Some do work indoors and have regular hours.
  Others occasionally work irregular hours to
  monitor experiments that cannot be completed
  during regular working hours.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
8
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Earnings
• According to the US Department of Labor, Bureau
  of Labor Statistics, the median hourly earnings
  of environmental science and protection
  technicians are about 18.31 per hour.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
9
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Employment
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
  of Labor Statistics, environmental science and
  protection technicians hold about 37,000 jobs in
  the United States. 
• Most environmental science and protection
  technicians work for State and local governments
  and professional, scientific, and technical
  services firms.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
10
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Career Path Forecast
• Employment of environmental science and
  protection technicians is expected to grow much
  faster than the average during the 2006-16
  decade.
• These workers will be needed to help regulate
  waste products to collect air, water, and soil
  samples for measuring levels of pollutants to
  monitor compliance with environmental
  regulations and to clean up contaminated sites.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
11
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Career Path Forecast (continued)
• Over 80 percent of this growth is expected to be
  in professional, scientific, and technical
  services as environmental monitoring, management,
  and regulatory compliance increase.
• In addition to job openings created by growth,
  many openings should arise from the need to
  replace technicians who retire or leave the labor
  force for other reasons.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
12
Environmental Science and Protection Technician

• Resources
• More information about Environmental Science and
  Protection Technician s is available at the Sloan
  Career Cornerstone Center, including lists of
  programs, suggestions for precollege students, a
  free monthly careers newsletter, and a PDF
  summarizing the field.
• Associations
• National Environmental Health Association
• National Registry of Environmental Professionals

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.