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Hydrologists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Research the distribution, circulation, and physical properties of underground and surface waters; and study the form and intensity of precipitation and its rate of infiltration into the soil, movement through the earth, and return to the ocean and atmosphere.

Related: Conservation Scientists Geoscientists Industrial Ecologists Water Resource Specialists Water/Wastewater Engineers

Industries: Government Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters, gathering information, recommending alternatives, informing participants of progress, and preparing draft orders.
Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters, gathering information, recommending alternatives, informing participants of progress, and preparing draft orders.
Review applications for site plans and permits and recommend approval, denial, modification, or further investigative action.
Coordinate and supervise the work of professional and technical staff, including research assistants, technologists, and technicians.
Study and analyze the physical aspects of the earth in terms of hydrological components, including atmosphere, hydrosphere, and interior structure.
Install, maintain, and calibrate instruments such as those that monitor water levels, rainfall, and sediments.
Develop or modify methods for conducting hydrologic studies.
Evaluate data and provide recommendations regarding the feasibility of municipal projects, such as hydroelectric power plants, irrigation systems, flood warning systems, and waste treatment facilities.
Study and document quantities, distribution, disposition, and development of underground and surface waters.
Prepare hydrogeologic evaluations of known or suspected hazardous waste sites and land treatment and feedlot facilities.
Apply research findings to help minimize the environmental impacts of pollution, waterborne diseases, erosion, and sedimentation.
Evaluate research data in terms of its impact on issues such as soil and water conservation, flood control planning, and water supply forecasting.
Conduct short- and long-term climate assessments and study storm occurrences.
Conduct research and communicate information to promote the conservation and preservation of water resources.
Answer questions and provide technical assistance and information to contractors or the public regarding issues such as well drilling, code requirements, hydrology, and geology.
Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters, gathering information, recommending alternatives, informing participants of progress, and preparing draft orders.
Conduct research and communicate information to promote the conservation and preservation of water resources.
Install, maintain, and calibrate instruments such as those that monitor water levels, rainfall, and sediments.
Measure and graph phenomena such as lake levels, stream flows, and changes in water volumes.
Prepare written and oral reports describing research results, using illustrations, maps, appendices, and other information.
Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions.
Monitor the work of well contractors, exploratory borers, and engineers and enforce rules regarding their activities.
Design civil works associated with hydrographic activities and supervise their construction, installation, and maintenance.
Compile and evaluate hydrologic information to prepare navigational charts and maps and to predict atmospheric conditions.
Design and conduct scientific hydrogeological investigations to ensure that accurate and appropriate information is available for use in water resource management decisions.
Administer programs designed to ensure the proper sealing of abandoned wells.
Investigate properties, origins, and activities of glaciers, ice, snow, and permafrost.
Study and document quantities, distribution, disposition, and development of underground and surface waters.
Design civil works associated with hydrographic activities and supervise their construction, installation, and maintenance.
Design civil works associated with hydrographic activities and supervise their construction, installation, and maintenance.
Compile and evaluate hydrologic information to prepare navigational charts and maps and to predict atmospheric conditions.
Measure and graph phenomena such as lake levels, stream flows, and changes in water volumes.
Design and conduct scientific hydrogeological investigations to ensure that accurate and appropriate information is available for use in water resource management decisions.
Collect and analyze water samples as part of field investigations or to validate data from automatic monitors.
Study public water supply issues, including flood and drought risks, water quality, wastewater, and impacts on wetland habitats.

Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

100000/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

48.08/hr

Currently Employed

330

Yearly Projected Openings

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Analytical Thinking
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Initiative
Achievement/Effort

Calipers
Clinometers
Commercial fishing nets
Conductivity meters
Desktop computers
Dissolution or disintegration testers
Dissolved oxygen meters
Dropping pipettes
Extensometers
Filters or other spare parts for samplers
Flowmeters
Global positioning system GPS receiver
Heating or drying equipment or accessories
Hydrometers
Laboratory bailers
Laboratory flasks
Laboratory mechanical convection ovens
Laboratory sifting equipment
Laboratory vacuum pumps
Laser printers
Levels
Logging instruments for water wells
Lux or light meter
Mainframe computers
Micrometers
Notebook computers
Oil content monitors analyzers
Open stream current meters
Open stream water level recorders
Peristaltic pumps
Personal computers
Pitch measuring instruments
Portable data input terminals
Portable seismic apparatus
Pressure sensors
Pull spring balances
Radarbased surveillance systems
Radiation detectors
Remote reading thermometers
Respirators
Salinity meter
Sampling pumps
Soil core sampling apparatus
Sonars
Spectrofluorimeters or fluorimeters
Surface data logging sensors
Surface data logging units
Templates
Theodolites
Thickness measuring devices
Turbidimeters
Two way radios
Underwater cameras
Water analyzers
Water samplers
Well logging downhole test equipment
pH meters

Analytical or scientific software
Categorization or classification software
Compliance software
Computer aided design CAD software
Data base user interface and query software
Development environment software
Electronic mail software
Geographic information system
Graphics or photo imaging software
Internet browser software
Map creation software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

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