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At the front lines of the fight against pollution, environmental engineering technicians play a crucial role. Like other engineering technicians, they work closely with engineers, using a narrower, application-based focus than fully licensed engineers. Environmental engineering technicians turn that narrow focus to topics like air pollution, recycling and wastewater management.

Technicians who thrive in the environmental engineering sector typically have a passion for the natural world, preferring to work with plants and animals over their more machinery oriented engineering peers.

Environmental engineering technician salary: 2012 information

Wages for environmental engineering technicians vary based on education and location. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that environmental engineering technicians earned median annual salaries of $43,390 in 2010, and the top 10 percent of earners brought in $72,020. Top paying industries for the occupation, along with mean yearly wages, include:

1. Oil and gas extraction: $72,030
2. Electric power generation, transmission and distribution: $66,100
3. Petroleum and coal products manufacturing: $64,270
4. Chemical and allied products merchant wholesalers: $62,050
5. Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing: $61,230

Top paying states for environmental engineering technicians are:

1. Nevada: $63,560
2. Rhode Island: $59,980
3. Alaska: $58,030
4. California: $57,760
5. South Carolina: $54,800

GlassDoor.com reports that, with two survey respondents reporting, average salaries in 2012 for environmental engineering technicians are $40,328. Salary.com reports median salary 2012 information for three levels of environmental engineering technicians:

1. Environmental Engineering Technician I (0 - 1 years of experience): $40,470
2. Environmental Engineering Technician II (2 - 5 years of experience): $48,354
3. Environmental Engineering Technician III (5 - 10 years of experience): $58,447

While wages are high in California, so is the cost of living. Take a look at a sampling of cities and states where salaries are highest relative to the state's cost of living, with 2012 wages for entry level environmental engineering technicians provided by Salary.com:

• Dallas, Texas: $40,349
• Reno, Nevada: $40,834
• Detroit, Michigan: $41,927

Of course, the figures above are only a guideline, not a guarantee, but they can serve to help you gauge how your training might stack up across the country and after years of experience.

Environmental engineering technician training and schools

Engineering technician training typically requires less of a time commitment than that for licensed engineers. A two-year associate degree in engineering technology is considered the most applicable training for environmental engineering technician jobs. Training should include an introduction to the technology you'll use, including water analyzers, air samplers, spectrofluorimeters and more.

Sunny career outlook for environmental engineering technicians

While engineering technicians in general are projected to see only a 5 percent job increase between 2008 and 2018, the BLS reports that career opportunities for environmental engineering technicians are expected to grow 30 percent over the same time span. Toughening environmental regulations and increasing public awareness are expected to be a major force behind the shift. About 6,400 new jobs are projected to enter the industry, compared to only 200 jobs for aerospace engineering and operations technicians.