An official website of Washington State government
Hydrologists
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.
What a hydrologist does
Become a hydrologist
If you enjoy doing these activities, you might make a good hydrologist
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Discover what you could earn in Washington
- Typical hourly rate is $50 per hour with a typical salary of $101,700 per year.
- Half of workers earn between $43 and $58 per hour.
- Half of workers earn an annual salary between $76,300 and $110,200 per year.
- 80% of individuals in this occupation have been employed in every quarter of the past year.
Part-time
- The typical hourly rate for part-time workers is $72 per hour with a typical salary of $102,700 per year.
- 16.8% of individuals in this occupation worked part-time during the past year.
Hydrologist job outlook
- There are 359 workers in this occupation in Washington.
- There are 36 openings per year in this occupation in Washington.
Multiple Jobs
- 6% of individuals in this occupation held a position in another.