Environmental Engineering Technician

Environmental Engineering Technicians help Environmental Engineers and other Scientists in eliminating environmental hazards. You do this by collecting and testing samples, operating equipment, and investigating compliance issues. Without Environmental Engineering Technicians like you, Environmental Engineers would be in the weeds—overwhelmed with too much work and not enough time to complete it.

As an Environmental Engineer’s right hand, your work is conducted in the field as much as it is inside the lab. The projects that come across your desk require you to explore your entire locality to collect samples, giving you the chance to see your community’s environment up close. You also give hands-on assistance with cleanup efforts. Even more than Engineers, you get to see the positive effects of environmental rehabilitation as they happen.

When you’re not analyzing ecosystems, you help Scientists implement environmental protection strategies. For example, when an Environmental Engineer develops a plan for a new wastewater removal system designed to stop pollution before it starts, you deliver and operate equipment used to implement the strategy, and maintain it regularly. If problems with machinery arise, you get the call—not unlike the computer whiz in an office setting—to help employees of the plant troubleshoot issues.

Environmental Engineering Technicians also help enforce government ordinances and codes. In this capacity, you need a firm grasp of regulations, most of which deal with asbestos, lead, and wastewater. If, for example, a site is having trouble complying with ordinances on hazardous materials disposal, you suggest ways that they can improve their disposal methods and get up to code.