---
title: "Environmental Science and Protection Technician, Including Health"
description: "Perform laboratory and field tests to monitor the environment and investigate sources of pollution, including those that affect health, under the…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-science-and-protection-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Environmental Science and Protection Technician, Including Health

**Category:** Life, Physical, and Social Science · **SOC code:** 19-4042 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 19-4042.00

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.

Also advertised as: Environmental Health Officer (EHO); Environmental Technician (Environmental Tech); Industrial Pretreatment Program Specialist (IPP Specialist); Lab Technician (Laboratory Technician); Public Health Sanitarian; Sanitarian; Sanitarian Specialist; Soil Lab Technician (Soil Laboratory Technician).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $55,090 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $26.49/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $38,170 to $94,160, with the middle half between $45,820 and $69,910
- **Total US employment:** 34,670
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +6.9% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 5,300 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 41/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 34,670 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $38,170 |
| 25th | $45,820 |
| 50th (median) | $55,090 |
| 75th | $69,910 |
| 90th | $94,160 |
| Mean (average) | $60,800 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WA | $67,160 | $62,759 | 850 |
| NE | $66,240 | $73,516 | 140 |
| CT | $66,120 | $63,816 | Not published by BLS |
| MN | $65,320 | $66,233 | 450 |
| RI | $64,830 | $63,385 | 90 |
| NY | $62,400 | $57,820 | 1,960 |
| NM | $62,330 | $67,594 | 500 |
| ND | $61,430 | $69,054 | 140 |
| CA | $61,220 | $55,293 | 6,010 |
| CO | $60,930 | $59,125 | 740 |
| PA | $60,650 | $62,159 | 1,180 |
| MT | $60,550 | $63,976 | 70 |
| NV | $60,370 | $60,383 | 390 |
| IL | $59,930 | $59,955 | 980 |
| MA | $59,330 | $56,100 | 330 |

35 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 50 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-science-and-protection-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/environmental-science-and-protection-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 36,400 in the 2025–2035 base year to 38,900 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 2,500 jobs, or +6.9%. Faster than average: 6.9% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 5,300 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Associate's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 68.2% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 22.7% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 4.6% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 4.6% |

## What the work involves

- Record test data and prepare reports, summaries, or charts that interpret test results.
- Develop or implement programs for monitoring of environmental pollution or radiation.
- Collect samples of gases, soils, water, industrial wastewater, or asbestos products to conduct tests on pollutant levels or identify sources of pollution.
- Discuss test results and analyses with customers.
- Provide information or technical or program assistance to government representatives, employers, or the general public on the issues of public health, environmental protection, or workplace safety.
- Maintain files, such as hazardous waste databases, chemical usage data, personnel exposure information, or diagrams showing equipment locations.
- Prepare samples or photomicrographs for testing and analysis.
- Inspect workplaces to ensure the absence of health and safety hazards, such as high noise levels, radiation, or potential lighting hazards.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Science — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Biology — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Law and Government — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 5.83 |
| I — Investigative | 5.60 |
| C — Conventional | 4.93 |
| S — Social | 1.93 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.35 |
| A — Artistic | 1.23 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 92.0 |
| ISTP | 81.5 |
| INTJ | 79.0 |
| ISFJ | 71.1 |
| ESTJ | 68.1 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Environmental Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $59,920
- [Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-scientist-and-specialist) — median $82,220
- [Environmental Compliance Inspector](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-compliance-inspector) — median $80,730
- [Environmental Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineer) — median $107,110
- [Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-and-wastewater-treatment-plant-and-system-operator) — median $60,020
- [Brownfield Redevelopment Specialist and Site Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/brownfield-redevelopment-specialist-and-site-manager) — median $141,900
- [Geological Technician, Except Hydrologic Technicians](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geological-technician) — median $53,350
- [Water/Wastewater Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-wastewater-engineer) — median $100,840
- [Conservation Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/conservation-scientist) — median $73,010
- [Water Resource Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-resource-specialist) — median $167,220

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/environmental-science-and-protection-technician