---
title: "Remote Sensing Technician"
description: "Apply remote sensing technologies to assist scientists in areas such as natural resources, urban planning, or homeland security. May prepare flight plans…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/remote-sensing-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Remote Sensing Technician

**Category:** Life, Physical, and Social Science · **SOC code:** 19-4099 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 19-4099.03

Apply remote sensing technologies to assist scientists in areas such as natural resources, urban planning, or homeland security. May prepare flight plans or sensor configurations for flight trips.

Also advertised as: Digital Cartographic Technician; Geospatial Extractor; Meteorologist Liaison; Research Associate.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $62,280 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $29.94/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $39,000 to $102,690, with the middle half between $48,030 and $79,780
- **Total US employment:** 73,910
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +4.4% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 11,200 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 21/100 — 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 73,910 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $39,000 |
| 25th | $48,030 |
| 50th (median) | $62,280 |
| 75th | $79,780 |
| 90th | $102,690 |
| Mean (average) | $66,280 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OK | $86,260 | $98,198 | 460 |
| DC | $79,230 | $72,092 | 150 |
| CA | $78,350 | $70,764 | 10,090 |
| WA | $73,530 | $68,711 | 980 |
| AK | $70,700 | $69,071 | 170 |
| RI | $69,630 | $68,078 | 210 |
| ND | $69,350 | $77,957 | 180 |
| GA | $69,320 | $71,989 | 2,230 |
| MD | $68,390 | $65,159 | 3,510 |
| KY | $68,230 | $75,677 | 320 |
| VA | $67,240 | $66,506 | 2,710 |
| ME | $66,730 | $68,758 | 390 |
| CT | $66,710 | $64,386 | 320 |
| KS | $65,270 | $72,467 | 880 |
| WY | $64,510 | $69,597 | 220 |

36 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 51 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/remote-sensing-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/remote-sensing-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 89,500 in the 2025–2035 base year to 93,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 3,900 jobs, or +4.4%. About as fast as average: 4.4% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 11,200 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 | 62.0% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 9.5% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 9.2% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 8.4% |
| Some College Courses | 6.0% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 4.5% |

## What the work involves

- Integrate remotely sensed data with other geospatial data.
- Adjust remotely sensed images for optimum presentation by using software to select image displays, define image set categories, or choose processing routines.
- Verify integrity and accuracy of data contained in remote sensing image analysis systems.
- Manipulate raw data to enhance interpretation, either on the ground or during remote sensing flights.
- Participate in the planning or development of mapping projects.
- Merge scanned images or build photo mosaics of large areas, using image processing software.
- Consult with remote sensing scientists, surveyors, cartographers, or engineers to determine project needs.
- Collect geospatial data, using technologies such as aerial photography, light and radio wave detection systems, digital satellites, or thermal energy systems.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 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.

- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Programming — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Geography — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Information Ordering — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Inductive Reasoning — importance 3.6 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 Conventional (C), Realistic (R), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| C — Conventional | 5.24 |
| R — Realistic | 5.10 |
| I — Investigative | 4.60 |
| A — Artistic | 2.14 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.71 |
| S — Social | 1.51 |

### 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 | 94.0 |
| ISTP | 81.6 |
| INTJ | 80.5 |
| ISFJ | 72.1 |
| ESTJ | 69.4 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Remote Sensing Scientist and Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/remote-sensing-scientist-and-technologist) — median $122,570
- [Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electro-mechanical-and-mechatronics-technologist-and-technician) — median $73,900
- [Camera Operator, Television, Video, and Film](https://nuecareer.com/careers/camera-operator-television-video-and-film) — median $74,990
- [Geological Technician, Except Hydrologic Technicians](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geological-technician) — median $53,350
- [Geodetic Surveyor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geodetic-surveyor) — median $75,440
- [Surveying and Mapping Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surveying-and-mapping-technician) — median $54,240
- [Cartographer and Photogrammetrist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cartographer-and-photogrammetrist) — median $81,390
- [Geographic Information Systems Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geographic-information-systems-technologist-and-technician) — median $116,580
- [Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineering-and-operations-technologist-and-technician) — median $82,890
- [Aerospace Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineer) — median $134,960

## 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/
- **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/remote-sensing-technician