Water Resource Specialists build judgment and decision making, time management and complex problem solving skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Environmental Engineers (96%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Environmental Engineers | 96% | $107,110 | — | None |
| 2 | Water/Wastewater Engineers | 93% | $100,840Pay for the broader BLS group “Civil Engineers” | Not compared | None |
| 3 | Hydrologists | 90% | $96,600 | — | None |
| 4 | Conservation Scientists | 90% | $73,010 | — | None |
| 5 | Industrial Ecologists | 85% | $82,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” | Not compared | Graduate degree |
| 6 | Petroleum Engineers | 85% | $144,910 | — | None |
| 7 | Environmental Restoration Planners | 84% | $82,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health” | Not compared | Graduate degree |
| 8 | Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 84% | $82,220 | — | None |
| 9 | Civil Engineers | 81% | $100,840 | — | None |
| 10 | Agricultural Engineers | 81% | $98,590 | — | None |
Compared with Water Resource Specialists, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as water resource specialists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
96% skill match · $107,110
Coordination
93% skill match · $100,840 (broader BLS group)
Technology Design · Equipment Selection · Management of Personnel Resources
90% skill match · $96,600
Equipment Maintenance · Equipment Selection · Repairing
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Environmental Engineers (96% skill match, median $107,110), Water/Wastewater Engineers (93% skill match, median $100,840) and Hydrologists (90% skill match, median $96,600), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than water resource specialists at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
23 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. 2 usually need a graduate degree: Industrial Ecologists and Environmental Restoration Planners.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.