Health Environmental Science and Protection Technicians: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Health Environmental Science and Protection Technicians 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.

• 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.
• Investigate hazardous conditions or spills or outbreaks of disease or food poisoning, collecting samples for analysis.

Salary

Environmental Protection Technicians with little to no experience tend to make between $28530 and $35420 while the more experienced ones can earn over $61240 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Health Environmental Science and Protection Technician is to move to a higher paying state like WA. Right now, the highest paying states for Environmental Protection Technicians are WA, RI, DC, UT and CA.

However, a higher pay at WA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at WA might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Health Environmental Science and Protection Technician is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Environmental Protection Technicians what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by an Associate’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Health Environmental Science and Protection Technician.

What is the job like

62% of Environmental Protection Technicians said they were satisfied with their job and 60% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

Explore other careers