Pollution Control Technician

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Work Tasks

• Find ways to control pollutants in air, water, and soil
• Do tests to find pollution levels in different materails
• Make summaries and charts for review
• Install, run, and maintain test instruments
• Work in offices and labs and outdoors getting samples for the government, private industry, or places that study pollution
• Work with solids, liquids, gases, pH meters, autoclaves, centrifuges, spectrophotometers, microscopes, analytical instruments, chemical lab equipment, chemicals, records, and charts

Salary, Size & Growth

• $55,500 average per year ($26.75 per hour)
• A medium occupation (111,600 workers in 2010)
• Expected to grow rapidly (2.0% per year)

Education/Training

• Minimum for Entry: A 2-year degree in science
• Employers Prefer: A 4-year degree in environmental science
• Skills/Courses: College courses include chemistry, physics, math, and computer science with emphasis on laboratory science courses.
• Certification/Licensing: A license may be required.