---
title: "Hydrologic Technician"
description: "Collect and organize data concerning the distribution and circulation of ground and surface water, and data on its physical, chemical, and biological…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydrologic-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Hydrologic Technician

**Category:** Life, Physical, and Social Science · **SOC code:** 19-4044 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 19-4044.00

Collect and organize data concerning the distribution and circulation of ground and surface water, and data on its physical, chemical, and biological properties. Measure and report on flow rates and ground water levels, maintain field equipment, collect water samples, install and collect sampling equipment, and process samples for shipment to testing laboratories. May collect data on behalf of hydrologists, engineers, developers, government agencies, or agriculture.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $64,790 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $31.15/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $44,950 to $100,480, with the middle half between $52,040 and $84,680
- **Total US employment:** 2,840
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** -1.3% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 400 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** not scored for this occupation

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 2,840 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $44,950 |
| 25th | $52,040 |
| 50th (median) | $64,790 |
| 75th | $84,680 |
| 90th | $100,480 |
| Mean (average) | $69,530 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TX | $88,400 | $91,080 | 270 |
| WA | $85,240 | $79,654 | 70 |
| NM | $79,710 | $86,442 | 50 |
| MO | $79,440 | $87,473 | 40 |
| MA | $73,820 | $69,802 | 60 |
| CA | $70,790 | $63,936 | 300 |
| NV | $68,660 | $68,674 | 30 |
| MD | $67,520 | $64,330 | 50 |
| GA | $66,770 | $69,340 | 60 |
| PA | $65,420 | $67,048 | 100 |
| NJ | $65,190 | $59,915 | 40 |
| NY | $65,190 | $60,405 | 50 |
| AZ | $65,170 | $64,732 | 50 |
| KY | $65,170 | $72,283 | 30 |
| LA | $65,170 | $73,883 | 40 |

14 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 29 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydrologic-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/hydrologic-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 3,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 3,000 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 0 jobs, or -1.3%. Declining: -1.3% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 400 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:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

## What the work involves

- Analyze ecological data about the impact of pollution, erosion, floods, and other environmental problems on bodies of water.
- Answer technical questions from hydrologists, policymakers, or other customers developing water conservation plans.
- Apply research findings to minimize the environmental impacts of pollution, waterborne diseases, erosion, or sedimentation.
- Assist in designing programs to ensure the proper sealing of abandoned wells.
- Collect water and soil samples to test for physical, chemical, or biological properties, such as pH, oxygen level, temperature, and pollution.
- Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions.
- Estimate the costs and benefits of municipal projects, such as hydroelectric power plants, irrigation systems, and wastewater treatment facilities.
- Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters by gathering information, recommending alternatives, or preparing legal documents.

## 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), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 5.48 |
| C — Conventional | 5.28 |
| I — Investigative | 4.92 |
| S — Social | 1.68 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.47 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### 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 | 94.4 |
| ISTP | 79.8 |
| INTJ | 77.1 |
| ISFJ | 74.3 |
| ESTJ | 72.5 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Hydrologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydrologist) — median $96,600
- [Water/Wastewater Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-wastewater-engineer) — median $100,840
- [Geological Technician, Except Hydrologic Technicians](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geological-technician) — median $53,350
- [Water Resource Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-resource-specialist) — median $167,220
- [Conservation Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/conservation-scientist) — median $73,010
- [Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-scientist-and-specialist) — median $82,220
- [Surveying and Mapping Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surveying-and-mapping-technician) — median $54,240
- [Environmental Science and Protection Technician, Including Health](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-science-and-protection-technician) — median $55,090
- [Environmental Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $59,920
- [Environmental Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineer) — median $107,110

## 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/hydrologic-technician