Hydrologist
What the work is
Monitors, measures, analyses, models, describes and quantifies the Earth's underground and surface water systems, and their interactions with the water cycle, including human use and management of water resources.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Collects, analyses and interprets groundwater or surface water data
- Studies the distribution, and physical and chemical properties of surface water and groundwater
- Identifies the location of groundwater reservoirs and other water bodies, and assists in their exploration
- Studies the quality of water, and develops methods to ensure water is safe for human consumption or other applications
- Assists in the planning and development of water supply to urban areas
- Uses models to predict the impact of human activities such as mining and construction on groundwater and surface water, and advises on the avoidance or mitigation of those impacts
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a geoscience team: core sheds and drill sites in the field, and a water agency office in town. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A core sample comes out of the ground and tells a story that is millions of years old
- A pattern in the data finally explains why a bore keeps running dry
- A rock you identified in the field turns out to be the key to a whole map
Hard days
- Long days in the dust and heat, with a laptop full of data to check each night
- Pressure to say a result looks promising when the data says it is uncertain
- A drought, and a town that wants more certainty about its water than you can give
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 244533, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.