Hydrologist officer job roles, responsibilities, descriptions, duties and salary

Date of posting: 20 Sep 21

What Does a Hydrologist Do?

Get access to the job designation, duty and responsibility, employment, work schedule, qualifications, technical skills and pay scale of a Hydrologist


Job designation: - Hydrologist

Hydrologists play a crucial role to find solutions to water problems, and people who study geophysical science will pursue a range of fascinating and difficult careers. These consultants specialize in physical geography, environmental engineering, civil engineering, and earth or environmental science.

Duties and responsibilities of a Hydrologist

Hydrologists manage and maintain water resources to verify consumer water supplies in a safe and affordable way. This includes managing all aspects of collecting data and information about water resources, traveling to field sites for testing, and identifying trends in hydrological data. 

  • Investigation of relationships between soil and rock characteristics, precipitation and runoff.

  • Using specialised computing modelling applications.

  • Data registration and analysis of water resource systems.

  • Use hydrological and measurable visualization methods

Places of employment for a Hydrologist

Hydrographers are working in the office or in the field. In the office, water writers spend a lot of time using computers to analyse data and model findings. In the field, it is often necessary to set foot in lakes and streams to collect water literacy samples, read and inspect monitoring equipment, and so on.

Work schedule of a Hydrologist

Hydrologists typically have 5 or 95 days a week. But sometimes you need to work more time to meet the deadline for your project. Also, in the case of underwater emergencies such as floods, you will have to work extra time.


Qualifications required to become a Hydrologist


The number of universities offering Bachelor of Science in Hydrology is limited in India, so it is recommended to take a Bachelor of Science course in Geography after grade 12. This course will help you enrol in a Master of Hydrology course. You can also choose a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering / Environmental Engineering after Grade 12 for a Master of Hydrology degree.


Under-graduate courses to become a Hydrologist


  • Bachelor of Science course in Geography

  • Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering / Environmental Engineering


Eligibility to pursue the course: -


  • 50% to 60% pass in class 12th with Arts or Science 

  • 50% to 60% pass in class 12th with PCM (Physics, Chemistry and Maths) 


Entrance-exams to be taken to pursue the course


  • BHU-UET (Banaras Hindu University)

  • AMU Entrance Test (Aligarh Muslim University)

  • LPUNEST (Lovely Professional University)

  • JEE Mains and Advanced


Institutes which are offering these courses 


  • IIT Kharagpur

  • Hindustan College of Science and Technology

  • L.D. College of Engineering

  • Presidency College 

  • Loreto College 


Post-graduate courses for a Hydrologist


Eligibility to pursue the course: -


  • Any science in Chemistry, Environmental science or equivalent graduate with a percentage over 60% in graduation


Entrance-exams to be taken to pursue the course


  • Merit-based entry

  • Entrance exam based on some institutes or university


Institutes which are offering these courses 


  • St. Stephen’s College

  • Loyola College

  • St. Xavier’s College

  • Christ University

  • Madras Christian College

Key/Technical skills

  • Critical thinking is needed when planning to respond to the threat of water supply

  • Clearly explain to others, including those without a scientific background (eg, civil servants).

  • Writing well allows you to clearly present your findings to your professional peers, as well as to government officials and the public

  • Appropriately examining gathered field information can assist you with evaluating water quality and take care of issues

  • You should know Microsoft Excel or other accounting page programming for information extraction and revealing.

Salary expectations

  • Average salary: - Rs. 9.2 lakhs

  • Entry level salary: - Rs. 6.6 lakhs

  • Experienced-level salary: - Rs. 11.6 lakhs

Process of getting the job of a Hydrologist

  • Placement from colleges, universities and other recognised institutions

  • Job searching on linkedin or Indeed for Hydrologist posts

  • Checking out any institution’s profile and requirements for a Hydrologist

Similar Jobs

  • Agriculture engineers

  • Civil Engineers

  • Geoscientist