Physical / Geoscience Technician
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Physical or Geoscience Technician works with supervising geoscientists and geophysicists and uses specialized equipment to collect data on the earth's surface and interior. May assist with prospecting for underground sources of oil or gas.
Job Outlook
There were 169 Physical / Geoscience Technician job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5484 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Physical / Geoscience Technician industry, which includes the Physical / Geoscience Technician career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Physical / Geoscience Technician jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $58,105.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $53,898.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Physical / Geoscience Technician postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $43,354.
Education and Experience
Posted Physical / Geoscience Technician jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 9.04% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 37.33% |
| Master's Degree | 16.01% |
| Doctoral Degree | 5.36% |
| Other | 30.58% |
Posted Physical / Geoscience Technician jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 55.68% |
| 3 to 5 years | 32.08% |
| 6 to 8 years | 5.58% |
| 9+ years | 6.66% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Physical / Geoscience Technician positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (34.3%)
- Operations (26.93%)
- Management (23.19%)
- Research (14.28%)
- Detail Oriented (12.78%)
- Planning (11.85%)
- Writing (11.56%)
- Microsoft Office (11.34%)
- Leadership (10.67%)
- Mathematics (10.67%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Geotechnical Engineering (26.76%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Geology (20.95%)
- Physical Science (16.49%)
- Soil Science (17.22%)
- Laboratory Testing (15.53%)
- Project Management (21.73%)
- Construction (12.92%)
- Oil And Gas (16.94%)
- Chemistry (12.06%)
- Natural Gas (17.47%)
- Earth Science (5.01%)
- Sampling (Statistics) (9.82%)
- Civil Engineering (12.16%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Physical / Geoscience Technician skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Physical Science Technician
- Geotechnical Field Technician
- Geotechnical Project Manager
- Geotechnical Technician
- Laboratory Technician
- Field Technician
- Natural Gas Analyst
- Geotechnical Engineer
- Engineering Technician
- Geological Technician
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Physical / Geoscience Technician jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Actalent (126)
- Terracon Consultants (71)
- Ecs (60)
- Ecs Services (56)
- Pike Electric (55)
- Kelly Services (44)
- Universal Engineering Sciences (35)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (34)
- GPAC (34)
- Intertek (33)
North Carolina
- Ecs Services (12)
- Ecs (10)
- Raise (8)
- Ecs Southeast (7)
- Summit Engineering, Laboratory & Testing (5)
- Pike Electric (5)
- Universal Engineering Sciences (5)
- University of North Carolina (4)
- Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. (Gta) (4)
- North Carolina State University (4)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.