How to become a Hydrologist 2024

Hydrologist Research the distribution, circulation, and physical properties of underground and surface waters; and study the form and intensity of precipitation and its rate of infiltration into the soil, movement through the earth, and return to the ocean and atmosphere.

Hydrologist is Also Know as

In different settings, Hydrologist is titled as

Groundwater Consultant
Hydrogeologist
Hydrologist
Physical Scientist
Research Hydrologist
Scientist
Source Water Protection Specialist

Education and Training of Hydrologist

Hydrologist is categorized in Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Hydrologist

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Education Required for Hydrologist

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Degrees Related to Hydrologist

Training Required for Hydrologist

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Hydrologist in different industries are

What Do Hydrologist do?

Study and document quantities, distribution, disposition, and development of underground and surface waters.
Coordinate and supervise the work of professional and technical staff, including research assistants, technologists, and technicians.
Prepare hydrogeologic evaluations of known or suspected hazardous waste sites and land treatment and feedlot facilities.
Design and conduct scientific hydrogeological investigations to ensure that accurate and appropriate information is available for use in water resource management decisions.
Study public water supply issues, including flood and drought risks, water quality, wastewater, and impacts on wetland habitats.
Collect and analyze water samples as part of field investigations or to validate data from automatic monitors.
Apply research findings to help minimize the environmental impacts of pollution, waterborne diseases, erosion, and sedimentation.
Measure and graph phenomena such as lake levels, stream flows, and changes in water volumes.
Investigate complaints or conflicts related to the alteration of public waters, gathering information, recommending alternatives, informing participants of progress, and preparing draft orders.
Answer questions and provide technical assistance and information to contractors or the public regarding issues such as well drilling, code requirements, hydrology, and geology.
Develop or modify methods for conducting hydrologic studies.
Install, maintain, and calibrate instruments such as those that monitor water levels, rainfall, and sediments.
Evaluate data and provide recommendations regarding the feasibility of municipal projects, such as hydroelectric power plants, irrigation systems, flood warning systems, and waste treatment facilities.
Conduct short- and long-term climate assessments and study storm occurrences.
Study and analyze the physical aspects of the earth in terms of hydrological components, including atmosphere, hydrosphere, and interior structure.
Conduct research and communicate information to promote the conservation and preservation of water resources.
Design civil works associated with hydrographic activities and supervise their construction, installation, and maintenance.
Review applications for site plans and permits and recommend approval, denial, modification, or further investigative action.
Evaluate research data in terms of its impact on issues such as soil and water conservation, flood control planning, and water supply forecasting.
Monitor the work of well contractors, exploratory borers, and engineers and enforce rules regarding their activities.
Administer programs designed to ensure the proper sealing of abandoned wells.
Compile and evaluate hydrologic information to prepare navigational charts and maps and to predict atmospheric conditions.
Investigate properties, origins, and activities of glaciers, ice, snow, and permafrost.
Develop computer models for hydrologic predictions.
Prepare written and oral reports describing research results, using illustrations, maps, appendices, and other information.

Qualities of Good Hydrologist

Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Hydrologist

Bailers
Biological oxygen demand water samplers
Calipers
Cellular telemetry system water level monitors
Clinometers
Conductivity meters
Core samplers
Data logging pressure/temperature sensors
Desktop computers
Dessicators
Dip nets
Dissolved oxygen meters
Doppler current and depth meters
Double-packer systems
Drive-point piezometers
Erosion monitors
Extensometers
Filter flasks
Flow-through field fluorometers
Global positioning system GPS receivers
Groundwater data logging instruments
Groundwater sampling peristaltic pumps
Handheld data collection units
Hydraulic fracturing systems
Hydrological current meters
Ice meters
In-situ pore water samplers
Inclinometers
Instream sediment collectors
Laboratory ovens
Laboratory vacuum pumps
Laser printers
Levels
Light density meters
Mainframe computers
Map templates
Micrometers
Multi-port sampling systems to monitor groundwater
Multiparameter water quality instruments
Notebook computers
Oil water interface meters
Personal computers
pH meters
Pipettes
Pore pressure piezometers
Portable pumping and sampling systems
Radar equipment
Radiological monitoring equipment
Respirators
Salinity meters
Sediment samplers
Sieve shakers
Soil samplers
Sounding reels
Specific gravity hydrometers
Spring scales
Standpipe multi-packer systems for long-term monitoring of deep boreholes
Stream flow gauges
Submersible pressure and level sensors
Submersible water quality sensors
Subsurface grab water samplers
Suction samplers
Surface water velocity measurement probes
Swing water samplers
Total stations
Turbidimeters
Two way radios
Underwater temperature recorders
Underwater video cameras
Water level recorders
Well/surface water dataloggers
Wireless data collection systems

Technology Skills required for Hydrologist

Advanced Logic Technology WellCAD
Amtec Engineering Tecplot
Argus ONE Open Numerical Environments
Autodesk AutoCAD
Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
Autodesk AutoCAD Map 3D
Autodesk Land Desktop
Bentley MicroStation
Bentley Systems gINT
Biodegration flow and transport modeling software
BOSS International Visual Groundwater
C++
Carlson SurvCADD
ChemStat
Clover Technology GALENA
Data visualization software
Database software
EarthSoft EQuIS Geology
EarthVision
Electric Rain Swift 3D
Email software
EnviroData Solutions
EnviroInsite
Environmental Software and Services SUTRA
ESRI ArcGIS software
ESRI ArcView
Fitts Geosolutions TWODAN
Formlink HydroGEN
Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
GAEA Technologies Packet ESA
GAEA Technologies WinLog
GAEA Technologies WinSieve
Geographic information system GIS software
Geographic information system GIS systems
Geomechanical design analysis GDA software
GIS/Solutions GIS/Key
Golden Software Strater
Golden Software Surfer
Graphics software
Groundwater modeling system GMS
Groundwater Software QuickCross/Fence
Groundwater Software QuickLog
Groundwater Software Visual Site Manager
Groundwater Vistas
HEC-1
HEC-2
HEC-RAS
Hydrologic simulation program fortan HSPF software
HydroSOLVE AQTESOLV
Integrated Environmental Services 3D Master
Laboratory information management system LIMS
Logger data manager LDM
Logplot software
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Visual Basic
Microsoft Windows Vista Business
Microsoft Word
MLPU
National pollutant discharge elimination system NPDES compliance software
Parameter Estimation PEST
PRINCE
Python
Revised universal soil loss equation RUSLE software
River Lake Altimetry Product
RIVERMorph
RockWare ChemFlux
RockWare Geochemist's Workbench GWB
RockWare MODFLOW
RockWare RockWorks
RockWare SieveGraph
Satellite database software
Scientific Software Group 3DFATMIC
Scientific Software Group 3DFEMFAT
Scientific Software Group AQUA3D
Scientific Software Group AquaDyn
Scientific Software Group AQUASEA
Scientific Software Group Aquifer win32
Scientific Software Group AQUIPACK
Scientific Software Group AT123D
Scientific Software Group BIO1D
Scientific Software Group BIOF&T
Scientific Software Group BIOSLURP
Scientific Software Group BioTrends
Scientific Software Group CHASM
Scientific Software Group ChemGraph
Scientific Software Group DTM
Scientific Software Group Enviro-Base Pro
Scientific Software Group EnviroScape
Scientific Software Group EVS
Scientific Software Group FEFLOW
Scientific Software Group Filter Drain FD
Scientific Software Group GFLOW
Scientific Software Group HydroGeo Analyst
Scientific Software Group HYDROGEOCHEM
Scientific Software Group Infinite Extent
Scientific Software Group MARS 2-D/3-D
Scientific Software Group MIDUSS
Scientific Software Group MIGRATE
Scientific Software Group MINTEQA2
Scientific Software Group MOCDENSE
Scientific Software Group MODFLOWT
Scientific Software Group MODPUMP
Scientific Software Group MODRET
Scientific Software Group MOFAT
Scientific Software Group MohrView
Scientific Software Group MOVER
Scientific Software Group MS-VMS
Scientific Software Group MT3D99
Scientific Software Group OILVOL
Scientific Software Group POLLUTE
Scientific Software Group QHM
Scientific Software Group QuickSoil
Scientific Software Group RISC WorkBench
Scientific Software Group RMT
Scientific Software Group SEQUENCE
Scientific Software Group SESOIL
Scientific Software Group SLAEM/MLAEM
Scientific Software Group Soil Vapor Extraction BioSVE
Scientific Software Group SOILPARA
Scientific Software Group SOLUTRANS
Scientific Software Group StepMaster
Scientific Software Group SURF
Scientific Software Group SVFlux
Scientific Software Group SVHeat
Scientific Software Group TUFLOW
Scientific Software Group VAM2D
Scientific Software Group WinFlow
Scientific Software Group WinTran
Scientific Software GroupWHI UnSAT Suite
Scientific Software GroupWinFence
SEDCAD
Softree Technical Systems Terrain Tools
SoilVision Systems SVGrainsize
SoilVision Systems SVOFFICE
Spreadsheet software
Starpint Software Super Slug
StatPoint StatGraphics Plus
Structure query language SQL
Surface water modeling system SMS software
The MathWorks MATLAB
Trimble Pathfinder Office
Trimble TerraSync
Vieux & Associates Vflow
Visual MODFLOW Pro
Waterloo Hydrogeologic AquaChem
Waterloo Hydrogeologic AquiferTest Pro
Waterloo Hydrogeologic RBC Tier 2 Analyzer
Waters eLab Notebook
Watershed modeling system WMS software
Web browser software
Word processing software

US Universities

How to become Hydrologist in 2024