Geothermal Technicians
Perform technical activities at power plants or individual installations necessary for the generation of power from geothermal energy sources. Monitor and control operating activities at geothermal power generation facilities and perform maintenance and repairs as necessary. Install, test, and maintain residential and commercial geothermal heat pumps.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Troubleshooting
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Quality Control Analysis
- Active Learning
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Physics
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Chemistry
- Design
- Mathematics
What the work involves
- Identify and correct malfunctions of geothermal plant equipment, electrical systems, instrumentation, or controls.
- Monitor and adjust operations of geothermal power plant equipment or systems.
- Identify equipment options, such as compressors, and make appropriate selections.
- Perform pre- and post-installation pressure, flow, and related tests of vertical and horizontal geothermal loop piping.
- Collect and record data associated with operating geothermal power plants or well fields.
- Determine whether emergency or auxiliary systems will be needed to keep properties heated or cooled in extreme weather conditions.
- Prepare and maintain logs, reports, or other documentation of work performed.
- Install, maintain, or repair ground or water source-coupled heat pumps to heat and cool residential or commercial building air or water.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (65.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (36.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (32.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Geothermal Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 49-9099 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 54% of occupations compared | 66% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 82% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 50% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 58% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 71% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 81% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 75% of occupations compared | 69% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 84% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 8.7%
- Contact with others about half the time: 14.15%
- Contact with others most of the time: 11.25%
- Constant contact with others: 65.9%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 40.02%
- Fairly important: 23.25%
- Important: 5.69%
- Very important: 9.34%
- Extremely important: 21.69%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 9.21%
- Important: 9.97%
- Very important: 24.09%
- Extremely important: 56.73%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 5.04%
- Limited freedom: 17.83%
- Some freedom: 28.09%
- A lot of freedom: 49.04%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.88%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 39.82%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.01%
- Every day: 17.28%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 34.26%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 26.75%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 18.65%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.15%
- Every day: 12.2%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 5.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 68.74%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 13.35%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 8.05%
- Every day: 4.01%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 9.21%
- Fairly serious: 8.8%
- Serious: 13.13%
- Very serious: 28.98%
- Extremely serious: 39.88%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 49-9099.01 · SOC 49-9099 (detailed_parent, medium confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8