Water Quality Field Intern: Ecology & Data Analysis

State of South Dakota; Brookings (SD); On-site; USD 32,339,000 - 58,052,000; Part time

Job summary

The Surface Water Quality Intern position is offered by the South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources and Administration in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources. It supports field and office work evaluating water use classifications for SD waters, with hands-on environmental monitoring and data analysis experience.

Candidates must be current part-time or full-time students and have completed at least a year of study.

Qualifications

• Enrolled as a part-time or full-time student at a college, university, or technical institute.
• By the start of the internship, the student should have completed one year (nine months) of their chosen program.
• Preference may be given to juniors/seniors, SD residents, and students of SD institutions.

Responsibilities

• Assist field assessments of streams and wetlands to support use classifications.
• Collect water quality data as part of an environmental science team.
• Operate and maintain field equipment (meters, gear).
• Assist with fish collection, habitat assessments, and sampling.
• Conduct fieldwork in varied weather and rugged terrain.
• Travel for fieldwork, including 2–3 day trips.
• Verify data using iNaturalist, GIS, and statistics software.

Job description

The Surface Water Quality Intern position is offered by the South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources and Administration in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources. It supports field and office work evaluating water use classifications for SD waters, with hands-on environmental monitoring and data analysis experience.

Candidates must be current part-time or full-time students and have completed at least a year of study.