How To Become A Water Resource Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a water resource specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Potable water is a limited resource, and it is the duty of a water resource specialist to help resolve issues with water availability, quality, and regulatory compliance. Essentially, their main job function is to help communities receive adequate water supply and to ensure that that water supply is safe for consumption.

To fulfill these functions, a water resource specialist performs duties like conducting water quality analysis, assisting in the maintenance of water purification, creating proposals to increase water availability, and assessing the demand for water in a given area versus the available supply.

Having at least a four-year degree in business, environmental science, geology, or another similar field is a huge advantage for this role, and the same goes for prior work experience. Moreover, an aspiring water resource specialist must have additional education, training, and experience with water supply and purification processes.

In terms of salary, a water resource specialist can make around $75,000 per year on average, or roughly about $36 an hour.

ScoreWater Resource SpecialistUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,270

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.0

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 8.25%

Black or African American 2.59%

Hispanic or Latino 15.33%

Unknown 7.60%

White 65.71%

Gender

female 32.02%

male 67.98%

Age - 43.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43.5

Stress Level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.8

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a water resource specialist

Explore water resource specialist education requirements

Most common water resource specialist degrees

Bachelor's

46.8 %

High School Diploma

18.9 %

Associate

16.3 %

Start to develop specific water resource specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Water Resources	17.78%
GIS	7.81%
Data Entry	6.19%
Water Rights	6.00%
GPS	5.48%

Research water resource specialist duties and responsibilities

Repair and manage pumps, meters, hose, filters, plumbing part, chemical distribution systems and relate equipment.
Draft construction plans using AutoCAD.
Extract water from flood structures using commercial extraction equipment.
Maintain QA/QC program, MSDS manual and all laboratory log books.

Prepare your water resource specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your water resource specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a water resource specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Water Resource Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Water Resource Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Water Resource Specialist resume.

Apply for water resource specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a water resource specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do water resource specialists rate their job?

4/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Water Resource Specialist reviews

4.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

Every day is different, I get to analyze data, work with customers, and do specialized projects.

Cons

Water can be political and you can easily be ignored for political reasons.