Hydrology Career Path: Job Description, Education, and Salary Analysis

This report provides an overview of a career in hydrology, defining the role of a hydrologist as someone who studies the interaction between water and the earth's crust. It outlines typical daily activities, such as measuring environmental characteristics, record-keeping, and supervising scientific personnel. The report also includes salary information, with the average yearly salary for a hydrologist in 2015 being $75,530. Education requirements are discussed, noting that a bachelor's degree in natural sciences is usually sufficient for entry-level positions, with concentrations in geosciences being beneficial. Marketable skills like data analysis and digital mapping are also highlighted. The report concludes with a personal interest in the career, driven by a desire to conserve nature and address water solution problems, coupled with the attractive pay and relatively lower educational requirements compared to other professions. The report references articles from Crops, Soils, Agronomy News and owl guru.com to support its findings.

Running Head: A CAREER IN HYDROLOGY 1
A Career in Hydrology
Student’s Name
Institution
Date

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A Career in Hydrology
Definition of a Hydrologist?
A hydrologist is someone who studies how water and the earth’s crust interact. For
instance, he or she may investigate how rain and snow lead to erosion, form caves, leach through
rocks to eventually become groundwater (Tan, 2015). Also, a hydrologist may investigate the
effect brought about by precipitation on people with regard to river or lake levels or the
availability of groundwater (Tan, 2015). Furthermore, in tandem with other officials and
scientists, a hydrologist investigates ways of preserving water and how water pollution can be
eradicated.
What Hydrologists Do
Jacob Dow is a hydrologist who works with the Dakota Gasification Company in the
United States and states that his daily grind mainly entails three typically activities. These are:-
the measurement of environmental characteristics, record keeping of operational data and lastly,
supervision of the scientific personnel (Biswas, 2017). Other responsibilities include calibration
of scientific equipment, maintenance of lab equipment, evaluation of civil projects and the
review of environmental reports and permits. Hydrologists mostly work outdoors and
occasionally indoors and may sometimes go for travels whenever private side hustles come up
(Biswas, 2017).
A Hydrologist’s Average Salary
According to statistics, the average yearly salary for a hydrologist in 2015 was $75,530
(Tan, 2015). The highest paid employee working for the federal government pocketed $84,540.
Hydrologists plying their trade in the engineering sector went home with $80,310 while those in

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scientific and management made $78,580. Furthermore, a hydrologist employed by the local
government earned $69,000 (Tan, 2015).
Education Requirements
Earning a bachelors degree in the natural sciences is normally enough to land an entry-
level hydrologist job. Given that there exists only a few undergraduate hydrology courses,
students who are interested in pursuing a career path in hydrology should seek concentrations in
geosciences or basically earth science programs (Biswas, 2017). Coursework incorporates
mathematics,chemistry, biology, computer science concepts, statistics, life sciences and physical
sciences. What’s more, students who pursue other courses in environmental law may benefit
from interactions with project partners who’ve specialized in other fields (Biswas, 2017). Other
marketable skills that make hydrologists to stand out in the job market include data analysis as
well as digital mapping (Biswas, 2017).
Why I Find This Career Interesting?
First and foremost, nature is important for the livelihood of mankind and for the sake of
us and our future generations, its paramount we conserve it. I aspire to be a hydrologist to
prevent or find ways to solve water solution problems impacting the society. Secondly, the pay is
attractive compared to other jobs and gaining employment only requires a bachelors degree as
opposed to other professions which require one to have a masters degree to be considered for the
job.

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References
Biswas, A. (2017). Soil Physics & Hydrology Early Career Award. Crops, Soils, Agronomy
News, 62(1), 38-38.
Tan, S. (2015). Being A Hydrologist: What You Really Do. Retrieved from
http://www.owlguru.com/career/hydrologists/job-description/
What is a Hydrologist? (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.environmentalscience.org/career/hydrologist