Hydrologist

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Hydrologist studies water, including underground water and water from ground sources like lakes and streams, and researches various aspects of the water cycle. Collects data used to plan conservation efforts and manage water supply. May advise on groundwater contamination risks or planning for flood management.

Job Outlook

There were 16 Hydrologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 1253 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Hydrologist industry, which includes the Hydrologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:

Salary

Many new Hydrologist 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 $89,073.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $89,073.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Hydrologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $78,814.

Education and Experience

Posted Hydrologist 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	0%
Bachelor's Degree	70.95%
Master's Degree	31.44%
Doctoral Degree	25.94%
Other	4.63%

Posted Hydrologist 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	62.59%
3 to 5 years	28.41%
6 to 8 years	3%
9+ years	6%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Hydrologist 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.

Management (50.76%)
Communication (41.98%)
Investigation (29.61%)
Planning (28.65%)
Research (24.9%)
Mathematics (23.14%)
Problem Solving (22.11%)
Writing (20.99%)
Leadership (20.83%)
Coordinating (19.23%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

Physical Science (28%)
Geographic Information Systems (26.93%)
Aquatic Biology (18.23%)
Atmospheric Sciences (19.21%)
Chemistry (32.43%)
Data Analysis (22.58%)
Geophysics (28.9%)
Calculus (23.07%)
Groundwater Flow (7.14%)
Hydrology (90.39%)
Groundwater (34.24%)
Hydrologic Modeling (16.75%)
Project Management (23.15%)
Geology (65.85%)
Oceanography (24.47%)
Hydrogeology (36.54%)
Meteorology (25.86%)
Integral Calculus (22.66%)
Physics (25.29%)
Surface Water (25.45%)
Soil Science (45.07%)
Water Resource Management (19.95%)
Water Resources (52.38%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

Statistical Analysis (3.94%)
Civil Engineering (18.39%)
ArcGIS (GIS Software) (7.96%)
Computer Simulation (5.5%)
Biology (16.17%)
Environmental Engineering (13.79%)
Data Management (8.62%)
Environmental Resource Management (2.63%)
Field Research (11.25%)
Data Collection (14.37%)
Ecology (7.22%)
Engineering Geology (8.46%)
Environmental Studies (8.21%)
Environmental Science (23.81%)
Hydraulics (16.01%)
Hydraulic Engineering (8.37%)
Pollution Prevention (18.88%)
Geography (5.58%)
Performance Appraisal (8.37%)
Human Relations Movement (17.57%)
Machinery (7.06%)
Python (Programming Language) (9.52%)
Machine Learning (2.96%)
Wastewater (3.12%)
Sampling (Statistics) (13.38%)
Geochemistry (11.25%)
Scientific Methods (9.85%)
Remote Sensing (7.8%)
Technical Writing (15.11%)
Risk Analysis (1.48%)
Writing Systems (10.67%)
Software Technical Review (8.7%)
Watershed Management (5.5%)
Statistics (6.9%)
Resource Management (9.11%)
Sediment (4.02%)
Toxicology (3.94%)
Water Quality (15.93%)
Ledgers (Accounting) (12.4%)
Stormwater Management (10.34%)
General Scientific Knowledge (7.8%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

Fluvial Geomorphology (4.6%)
Flood Forecasting (0.82%)
Geomorphology (5.67%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

Fluvial Geomorphology (7.27%)
Data Analysis (35.71%)
Calculus (36.49%)
Geomorphology (8.96%)
Hydrologic Modeling (26.49%)
Integral Calculus (35.84%)
Project Management (36.62%)
Meteorology (40.91%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Hydrologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

Hydrogeologist
Geologist/Hydrogeologist
Water Resources Scientist
PhD Researcher
Project Hydrogeologist
Air Quality Scientist
Hydraulics Engineer
Drainage Engineer
Research Hydrologist

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 Hydrologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

State of Minnesota (256)
Geological Survey (71)
U.S Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center (43)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (42)
State of South Carolina (38)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (36)
United States Department of the Interior (27)
WSP Global (21)
State of Montana (18)
Greenman & Pedersen (17)

North Carolina

The Nature Conservancy (3)
State of North Carolina (2)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1)
Ms Consultants (1)
Tetra Tech (1)
United States Forest Service (1)
United States Department of Agriculture (1)
CDM Smith (1)
Resource Environmental Solutions (1)
Ho'Olaulima Government Solutions (1)

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.

Science and Research