What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health in the U.S. earn more than $82,220 a year — the middle 80% land between $52,520 and $140,010. About 89,250 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$82,220typical pay / year
89,250people in this work
$140,010+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Analysing4
Assess environmental impact
+Assess the storm-event's environmental impact across the river valley: map affected air and water monitoring…
Assess environmental impact
+Assess the storm-event's environmental impact across the river valley: map affected air and water monitoring sites, calculate exceedances against national pollution thresholds for the last seven days, then draft a short findings note for the regional remediation team by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISMicrosoft ExcelESCOjob descriptions
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Advise on environmental health standards
+Advise the public health unit on safe exposure limits: review the latest particulate and ozone readings from…
Advise on environmental health standards
+Advise the public health unit on safe exposure limits: review the latest particulate and ozone readings from city monitors, compare them to the national health standards and vulnerable group thresholds, then write a one-page recommendation with specific action triggers for the clinic by Friday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
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Analyze environmental data
+Analyze the archived environmental dataset for the industrial corridor: clean and normalise the sensor time…
Analyze environmental data
+Analyze the archived environmental dataset for the industrial corridor: clean and normalise the sensor time series for the past year, compute monthly means and trends for nitrogen oxides and PM2.5, then produce a chart-ready table and short methods note for the monitoring report.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESRI ArcGISjob descriptionsO*NET
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Conduct research or investigation
+Investigate the reported plume complaint: compile meteorological and dispersion records for the incident…
Conduct research or investigation
+Investigate the reported plume complaint: compile meteorological and dispersion records for the incident window, interview the on-call station technician for instrument status, then write an evidence summary with recommended follow-up sampling for the enforcement inspector within 48 hours.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISMicrosoft Outlookjob descriptionsO*NET
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Protecting1
Ensure compliance with regulations
+Ensure the plant's emissions reporting meets the consent conditions: cross-check last quarter's monitored…
Ensure compliance with regulations
+Ensure the plant's emissions reporting meets the consent conditions: cross-check last quarter's monitored discharges against permit limits, flag any exceedances with the supporting sensor logs and maintenance records, then prepare a compliance memo for the regulator and the operations manager by Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelAdobe Acrobatjob descriptionsO*NET
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The daily work15
Provide scientific or technical guidance, support, coordination, or oversight to governmental agencies, environmental programs, industry, or the public.
+Provide scientific guidance to the coastal development team and the state environmental office on air…
Provide scientific or technical guidance, support, coordination, or oversight to governmental agencies, environmental programs, industry, or the public.
+Provide scientific guidance to the coastal development team and the state environmental office on air dispersion modelling assumptions, list required monitoring locations and QA steps, and deliver a short technical memo by next Wednesday so permits can proceed.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISIBM SPSS StatisticsO*NET
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Monitor environmental impacts of development activities.
+Monitor the environmental impacts of the new quarry by reviewing weekly deposition and PM10 monitors, flag…
Monitor environmental impacts of development activities.
+Monitor the environmental impacts of the new quarry by reviewing weekly deposition and PM10 monitors, flag exceedances to the project manager and county inspector within 24 hours, and prepare a summary for the monthly stakeholders meeting.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESRI ArcGISO*NET
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Supervise or train students, environmental technologists, technicians, or other related staff.
+Supervise the three seasonal technicians and two interns on sampling technique and chain-of-custody, run a…
Supervise or train students, environmental technologists, technicians, or other related staff.
+Supervise the three seasonal technicians and two interns on sampling technique and chain-of-custody, run a hands-on session next Monday covering instrument calibration and data QA, then send corrected field SOPs to training records.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft OutlookO*NET
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Develop the technical portions of legal documents, administrative orders, or consent decrees.
+Draft the technical sections of the consent decree that set emissions limits, monitoring frequency and data…
Develop the technical portions of legal documents, administrative orders, or consent decrees.
+Draft the technical sections of the consent decree that set emissions limits, monitoring frequency and data validation procedures, attach supporting model run summaries and uncertainty statements, and deliver the redline to legal by Friday.
The tools that do the workO*NET
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Determine data collection methods to be employed in research projects or surveys.
+Decide data collection methods for the regional study: recommend continuous meteorological stations,…
Determine data collection methods to be employed in research projects or surveys.
+Decide data collection methods for the regional study: recommend continuous meteorological stations, supplemental mobile transects, and automated sample recovery intervals, justify choices with expected error and cost, and circulate the plan to the PI by Tuesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsESRI ArcGISO*NET
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Plan or develop research models, using knowledge of mathematical and statistical concepts.
+Develop the research model for pollutant transport using dispersion and receptor modelling, define the…
Plan or develop research models, using knowledge of mathematical and statistical concepts.
+Develop the research model for pollutant transport using dispersion and receptor modelling, define the equations, parameter distributions, and sensitivity runs, and produce model input files and a methods appendix for peer review.
The tools that do the workC++IBM SPSS StatisticsO*NET
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Perform investigations for health risks
+Investigate the recent particulate exceedance at Riverside industrial park, tie hourly sampler readings to…
Perform investigations for health risks
+Investigate the recent particulate exceedance at Riverside industrial park, tie hourly sampler readings to local meteorology, identify likely emission sources and health-risk thresholds breached, and draft an evidence file for the public health team by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workESRI ArcGISIBM SPSS Statisticsjob descriptions
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Prepare technical documentation
+Compile the technical dossier for the south-coast dispersion modelling study including data provenance, model…
Prepare technical documentation
+Compile the technical dossier for the south-coast dispersion modelling study including data provenance, model configuration and assumptions, QA checks, input meteorological files and a reproducible methods section for peer review by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workjob descriptions
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Communicate findings to stakeholders
+Summarise the week-long smoke episode for the council briefing: produce a two-page non-technical briefing…
Communicate findings to stakeholders
+Summarise the week-long smoke episode for the council briefing: produce a two-page non-technical briefing that links observed concentrations to health guidance, recommended short-term actions for schools and clinicians, and a one-paragraph ask for funding.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Develop new technological production processes
+Design and prototype an automated pipeline to ingest meteorological feeds, run plume-rise calculations and…
Develop new technological production processes
+Design and prototype an automated pipeline to ingest meteorological feeds, run plume-rise calculations and export exposure-ready concentration fields for the emergency response team; deliver a runnable spec and test dataset by end of month.
The tools that do the workC++ESRI ArcGISESCO
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Present their findings in scientific reports
+Draft the scientific report on the seasonal air-quality study: present methods, statistical trend analysis,…
Present their findings in scientific reports
+Draft the scientific report on the seasonal air-quality study: present methods, statistical trend analysis, uncertainty bounds, interpretation against policy targets, and a concise conclusions section for journal submission in six weeks.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft WordESCO
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Pollution legislation
+Review the city’s proposed emissions bylaw and produce a compliance-impact memo comparing current monitoring…
Pollution legislation
+Review the city’s proposed emissions bylaw and produce a compliance-impact memo comparing current monitoring capability to the new limits, flag enforcement gaps and recommend three practical regulatory amendments by Friday.
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Analyse environmental data
+Analyse the last six months of air quality and meteorological station readings, cross-check anomalous spikes…
Analyse environmental data
+Analyse the last six months of air quality and meteorological station readings, cross-check anomalous spikes against nearby emission sources and weather patterns, flag data gaps, and produce a clean dataset plus a brief noting confidence and next-data needs by Thursday.
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Develop environmental remediation strategies
+Develop a practicable remediation strategy for the coastal monitoring site: use the recent dispersion…
Develop environmental remediation strategies
+Develop a practicable remediation strategy for the coastal monitoring site: use the recent dispersion analysis, legal pollutant limits, stakeholder land use, and cost caps to propose three options with expected emission reductions, timeframe, and a recommended lead by next Tuesday.
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Report on environmental issues
+Draft a clear, non-technical briefing on last quarter’s environmental incidents and air quality trends,…
Report on environmental issues
+Draft a clear, non-technical briefing on last quarter’s environmental incidents and air quality trends, summarise regulatory exceedances, community exposure risks, and recommended actions for the operations team and the regulator, ready for circulation on Friday morning.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses