Hydrologist

Hydrologists help protect our water supplies and water quality. Hydrologists concerned with water supplies manage surface and ground water to avoid problems caused by floods, droughts, and population growth. Hydrologists working on water quality problems deal with the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological properties of water we use for drinking, irrigation, industrial cooling, or swimming.

Hydrologists work for both public and private institutions. The federal agencies which manage our natural resources all hire hydrologists. These agencies include the Geological Survey, National Weather Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, Soil Conservation Service, and Forest Service. State agencies and watershed associations dealing with natural resources also employ hydrologists. Many hydrologists work for private consulting firms.

To be a hydrologist, you should appreciate natural resources and enjoy working with people. Your college course work should include: natural resource economics, policy, and law; math through calculus; engineering hydrology; fluid mechanics; meteorology; soils; geology; forest and range management; physical and organic chemistry; microbiology; statistics; computer science; speech; and technical writing.

In high school take mathematics (algebra, trigonometry, and calculus), physics, biology, and chemistry. It helps to get experience with leadership skills, natural resources, and public speaking through organizations like 4-H, FFA, or scouting.

-- David DeWalle, The Pennsylvania State University