What is a Remote Sensing Technician?
Occupation Description Apply remote sensing technologies to assist scientists in areas such as natural resources, urban planning, or homeland security. May prepare flight plans or sensor configurations for flight trips.
Life As a Remote Sensing Technician: What Do They Do?
- Integrate remotely sensed data with other geospatial data.
- Merge scanned images or build photo mosaics of large areas, using image processing software.
- Operate airborne remote sensing equipment, such as survey cameras, sensors, or scanners.
- Develop specialized computer software routines to customize and integrate image analysis.
- Collect remote sensing data for forest or carbon tracking activities involved in assessing the impact of environmental change.
- Collect verification data on the ground, using equipment such as global positioning receivers, digital cameras, or notebook computers.
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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Remote Sensing Technician?
Remote Sensing Technicians state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Types of Remote Sensing Technician Jobs
- Graphics Edit Technician
- Verification Technician
- Remote Sensing Monitoring Technician
- Senior Stereo Compiler Team Lead
- Meteorologist Liaison
Remote Sensing Technician Employment Estimates
In the United States, there were 76,100 jobs for Remote Sensing Technician in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 9.7% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 7,400 new jobs for Remote Sensing Technician by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 9,900 job openings in this field each year.
The states with the most job growth for Remote Sensing Technician are Utah, Texas, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Wyoming, Maine, or Alaska. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Remote Sensing Technician Average Salary
Remote Sensing Technicians make between $29,830 and $80,370 a year.
Remote Sensing Technicians who work in Maryland, Connecticut, or Rhode Island, make the highest salaries.
How much do Remote Sensing Technicians make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $46,600 |
Alaska | $56,470 |
Arizona | $51,250 |
Arkansas | $50,740 |
California | $56,670 |
Colorado | $51,890 |
Connecticut | $62,090 |
District of Columbia | $61,000 |
Florida | $45,200 |
Georgia | $52,690 |
Hawaii | $57,310 |
Idaho | $42,220 |
Illinois | $51,130 |
Indiana | $51,970 |
Iowa | $46,740 |
Kansas | $51,960 |
Kentucky | $52,340 |
Louisiana | $47,250 |
Maine | $55,220 |
Maryland | $69,500 |
Massachusetts | $63,450 |
Michigan | $43,640 |
Minnesota | $50,440 |
Mississippi | $52,950 |
Missouri | $49,590 |
Montana | $43,930 |
Nebraska | $58,150 |
Nevada | $47,690 |
New Hampshire | $57,990 |
New Jersey | $60,660 |
New Mexico | $59,850 |
New York | $53,380 |
North Carolina | $53,390 |
North Dakota | $52,050 |
Ohio | $52,690 |
Oklahoma | $57,950 |
Oregon | $51,800 |
Pennsylvania | $50,410 |
Rhode Island | $59,480 |
South Carolina | $56,910 |
South Dakota | $45,190 |
Tennessee | $43,440 |
Texas | $54,290 |
Utah | $50,980 |
Virginia | $52,180 |
Washington | $55,920 |
West Virginia | $55,930 |
Wisconsin | $52,500 |
Wyoming | $53,940 |
What Tools do Remote Sensing Technicians Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Remote Sensing Technicians may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Web browser software
- Python
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Project
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- The MathWorks MATLAB
- SAS
- UNIX
- R
- Bentley Microstation
- Global positioning system GPS software
- Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE
- ESRI ArcGIS software
- Interface definition language IDL
- ESRI ArcView 3D Analyst
- ITT Visual Information Solutions ENVI
How do I Become a Remote Sensing Technician?
Education needed to be a Remote Sensing Technician:
How many years of work experience do I need?
Where do Remote Sensing Technicians Work?
The table below shows the approximate number of Remote Sensing Technicians employed by various industries.
References:
Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy from United States via public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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