Career Path

In this career, your responsibilities may include:

• Working with scientists and engineers to explore, monitor, and utilize natural resources such as natural gas and water.
• Setting up and maintaining lab and field equipment, gathering and analyzing samples, and preparing reports on findings and maps of areas with natural resources.
• Using complex scientific instruments both in the field and in the lab.

Job Titles

In your job search, you may find listings for this career under different titles. You can find some examples of these, as well as more information about Geological Technicians and Hydrologic Technicians, at Career One Stop.

Academic Requirements

Typically requires at least an associate degree, but some employers require a bachelor’s degree. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology would allow you to work as an Engineering Technologist, if you do not already have the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree in engineering would allow you to work as an Environmental Engineer, Mining and Geological Engineer, or Petroleum Engineer. Your associate degree might give you advanced standing or transfer credit toward a bachelor’s degree, reducing the time it would take you to graduate.

If you already have the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, obtaining a master’s degree can make you eligible for careers with greater responsibility and higher salaries in this pathway.