Environmental Scientist Career Assessment
Waders in July, a desk and a deadline in January
Welcome
Environmental scientists find out what is in the water, the air, the soil, and the waste, and then tell somebody what it means. Some of that is outdoors with a sample bottle. A lot of it is indoors writing the report nobody else wants to write.
The full title is Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health. It covers a wide stretch of work, and North Dakota has a real amount of it because of energy, water, and agriculture.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Environmental Scientist?
An environmental scientist collects and studies data about the environment and uses it to protect people and land. You take water samples from a river, a well, or a discharge pipe. You monitor air near a plant or a flare. You sample soil at a site where something spilled. You compare what you found against the legal limit and write what has to happen next. You review permit applications, inspect facilities, and investigate complaints. Sometimes you do environmental assessments for a project before it is built. The health side of this job means you also look at how contamination reaches people, through drinking water, through dust, through food. O*NET lists titles like Environmental Analyst, Environmental Health and Safety Specialist, Hazardous Substances Scientist, and Registered Environmental Health Specialist.
The Reality: The rhythm of this job in North Dakota is the thing nobody warns you about. Summer is field season: waders, sample coolers, long drives, mosquitoes, gravel roads, and daylight until ten at night. Winter is report season: a desk, a spreadsheet, a permit review, and a deadline. If you only want one of those two, this job will frustrate you half the year. On education, O*NET reports 47% of people in this job saying a bachelor's degree was required, and it sits in Job Zone Four. So four years of college is the realistic floor, and a master's is common for the research and specialist tracks. The field is moderate in size for North Dakota: about 240 people statewide with about 20 openings a year, which is better than most of the science jobs on this list.
Your Responsibilities:
- Collect water, soil, air, and waste samples in the field
- Run or arrange lab tests and interpret the results
- Compare findings to legal limits and permit conditions
- Inspect facilities, landfills, wells, and discharge points
- Review permit applications and write technical comments
- Investigate spills, complaints, and contamination reports
- Write reports, assessments, and cleanup recommendations
- Explain findings to the public, to companies, and to agencies
You are the person who finds out what is actually in it.
A Day in the Life
7:00 AM — Load the truck. Coolers, sample bottles, waders, GPS, chain-of-custody forms.
7:30 AM — Drive an hour and a half to three monitoring sites along a river.
9:00 AM — Wade in. Take samples upstream and downstream. Record temperature and flow.
11:30 AM — Two more sites. Fill out chain-of-custody on the tailgate.
12:30 PM — Lunch in the truck. Get the cooler on ice before anything warms up.
2:00 PM — Back at the office. Log samples and ship the cooler to the lab.
3:00 PM — Review a permit application for a new discharge. Write two comments.
4:30 PM — Start the site report from last week. Save it and go home.
Half outdoors, half at a keyboard, and the balance flips with the season.
Training in North Dakota
A four-year degree, and North Dakota has more choices here than you would expect. You need a bachelor’s degree in environmental science or a close science field: biology, chemistry, geology, natural resources, or soil science. One thing to know before you shop: NDSU does not list an environmental science bachelor’s major. Its route is the Natural Resources Management BS, which carries six areas of emphasis including soil science and water, habitat, and environmental management. Minot State does have a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Environmental Science. And several of North Dakota’s tribal colleges have unusually strong programs in this exact field, including one that goes all the way to a master’s degree.
Training Pathways:
- Two years here, then transfer (4 years total): Start with an associate degree close to home and move up. Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College and Sitting Bull College both list an Environmental Science AS, Cankdeska Cikana lists Natural Resource Management, and UTTC lists Environmental Science and Research.
- Straight to a four-year degree (4 years): Minot State offers a BS with a Major in Environmental Science, 120 credits, with Conservation, Earth Systems Science, and Environmental Health tracks. NDSU’s path is the Natural Resources Management BS. Sitting Bull College and Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College both offer an Environmental Science BS.
- Bachelor’s plus a master’s (about 6 years): For research, specialist, and senior agency work. NDSU has an interdisciplinary Environmental and Conservation Sciences master’s and doctorate with conservation biology, environmental science, and environmental social science tracks. Sitting Bull College offers an Environmental Science MS in North Dakota.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- Minot State University (Minot) — Bachelor of Science with a Major in Environmental Science, 120 credits, with three tracks: Conservation, Earth Systems Science, and Environmental Health — catalog.minotstateu.edu/undergraduate/academicprograms/environmental
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Natural Resources Management, BS, in the School of Natural Resource Sciences. NDSU lists six areas of emphasis including soil science and water, habitat and environmental management, and names Environmental Scientist as a high-demand outcome — ndsu.edu/programs/undergraduate/natural-resources-management
- Sitting Bull College (Fort Yates) — Environmental Science at three levels: Associate of Science, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science. The master’s degree in this field at a tribal college in North Dakota is rare and worth knowing about — sittingbull.edu/academics
- Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College (New Town) — Environmental Science, Associate of Science, and Environmental Science, Bachelor of Science — nhsc.edu/academics/degrees-certificates
- United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck) — Environmental Science and Research, plus Fisheries and Wildlife Biology and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems — uttc.edu/academics
- Cankdeska Cikana Community College (Fort Totten) — Natural Resource Management, associate degree — littlehoop.edu/academics
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Environmental and Conservation Sciences, master’s and doctorate, interdisciplinary, with conservation biology, environmental science, and environmental social science tracks — ndsu.edu/programs/graduate/environmental-and-conservation-sciences
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Water and Wastewater Technology, and an online Environmental and Safety Regulations certificate, for the applied and regulatory side — bismarckstate.edu/academics/programs
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. Take biology, chemistry, and math. Chemistry matters more here than most people expect, because so much of the work is about concentrations and limits. A driver’s license is essentially required, and being comfortable outdoors and alone in remote places is part of the job.
Tip: Start with financial aid and scholarships. Fill out the FAFSA, ask the school’s financial aid office what you qualify for, and ask an employer whether they help pay for school. That is where the money starts. After that, a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota may be able to help with what is left over, like tuition, books, a laptop, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you enroll rather than after. Worth asking about specifically: two-year degrees that train you for a job, like civil engineering technology, land surveying, mechatronics, electronics, or instrumentation. North Dakota two-year colleges also cost far less than a university. Ask about paid summer internships too — engineering firms, plants, and survey crews hire students while they are still in school.
Certification & Licensing
North Dakota does not license environmental scientists. There is no state license you must hold to work as an environmental scientist in North Dakota. What you will actually collect is a stack of job-specific training cards and, sometimes, a national credential tied to one corner of the work. Be careful with credential shopping here, because which one matters depends entirely on which employer you end up with.
What You Actually End Up Holding:
- No state license — unlike engineers or soil classifiers, environmental scientists in North Dakota are not registered by a state board. Your degree and your experience are the credential
- HAZWOPER training — the hazardous waste operations and emergency response training required by federal rule for people working at contaminated sites. Employers arrange and pay for it. Ask any employer whether the job requires it
- Sampling and chain-of-custody training — employer-specific and non-negotiable, because a sample with a broken paper trail is worthless no matter how good the lab result is
- Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) — O*NET lists this as a sample job title for this occupation. It is a national credential from a professional body, not a state license. Requirements and fees are set by the issuing organization, so check with them directly before you plan around it
- Safety certifications — many environmental jobs drift into workplace safety, and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals credentials described in the safety specialist assessment apply if you go that direction (bcsp.org)
- A master’s degree — for specialist, research, and senior agency positions this functions as the real credential in the way a license does elsewhere
The Exams: There is no North Dakota exam for this occupation. Any exam you take will belong to a national credential you chose, not to the state.
Cost: No state licensing cost. Your employer normally pays for HAZWOPER and job-specific training. The degree is the real expense.
Keeping It Current: Nothing state-issued to renew. HAZWOPER requires an annual refresher. National credentials set their own renewal and continuing education rules, so ask the issuing body.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $28.90–$32.22/hour ($60,110–$67,020/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $40.66/hour ($84,570/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $44.40–$52.55/hour ($92,340–$109,300/year)
What that means: North Dakota published full data, so these are real ND numbers. The ND middle is $40.66 an hour, about $84,570 a year, slightly above the national middle of $82,220. The bottom of the ND range is genuinely better than the national bottom: ND 10th is $60,110 against a national $52,520, and ND 25th is $67,020 against a national $64,490. So starting pay here is solid. The top is where North Dakota falls behind. The ND 90th percentile is $109,300 while the national 90th is $140,010, and the ND 75th of $92,340 trails the national $107,970 by a wide margin. Read that as: this is a good state to start in and a harder state to reach the top of the pay scale in. The highest-paying consulting and corporate environmental jobs are mostly in bigger markets.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 240 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 260 (about 5% growth). Expect about 20 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 4% growth — average.
Outlook: Modest and steady, and one of the healthier sizes in this group. North Dakota is projected to go from about 240 of these jobs in 2024 to about 260 in 2034, roughly 5% growth, with about 20 openings a year. Energy development, water quality work, and tribal environmental programs are what keep the demand here. This is not a booming field, but 240 people statewide is nearly double the size of several others in this group, and 20 openings a year is a real number.
Who Hires in ND: Environmental consulting firms, the ND Department of Environmental Quality, the ND Department of Water Resources, tribal environmental offices, oil and gas companies, coal and power companies, city water and wastewater utilities, landfills and waste companies, federal agencies including the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the universities.
Work Setting: Genuinely split. Field work in summer means rivers, wells, landfills, spill sites, oil field locations, and long drives on gravel. Office work in winter means a desk, a screen, and reports. Personal protective equipment is required at some sites. You will sometimes work alone in remote country, which some people love and some people do not.
Physical Demands: Medium. Wading, walking uneven ground, carrying coolers and sample kits, bending and kneeling, and sometimes wearing protective suits or a respirator. Weather is a constant factor half the year. Office days are ordinary desk work.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 19-2041); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Environmental Technician — Sampling and monitoring. Sometimes open to a two-year degree. Lower pay.
Path 2: Staff Environmental Scientist — You run your own sampling programs and write your own reports.
Path 3: Compliance or Permitting Specialist — You keep a facility or a company inside its permits.
Path 4: Tribal or State Environmental Program Staff — Agency work: monitoring, inspection, and enforcement.
Path 5: Project Manager — You run projects, budgets, and junior staff at a consulting firm.
Path 6: Senior Scientist or Program Manager — You set the direction. Usually needs a master’s degree.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- ND starting pay beats the national starting pay
- About 240 jobs statewide — bigger than most on this list
- Real outdoor field work half the year
- Strong tribal college programs, including a master’s
- Work that protects drinking water and health
- Skills that transfer to any state
What's Hard:
- ND top-end pay trails the US badly
- Four-year degree minimum, master’s common
- Field season means long days and long drives
- NDSU has no environmental science major
- Winter is mostly report writing
- Sometimes working alone in remote places
Be Honest: Are you all right with a job that is outdoors half the year and at a desk the other half? Can you write a clear report that somebody might argue with? Can you accept that the biggest paychecks in this field are mostly somewhere other than North Dakota?