Energy and chemicals

How to become a geothermal technician

Official title: Geothermal technician

Also called: Geothermal maintenance technician, Geothermal field technician, Geothermal production technician, Geothermal service technician, Geothermal plant operator

Geothermal technicians operate, maintain and repair equipment at geothermal power plants. They may install and service residential and commercial geothermal heating systems.

Main tasks

Operate geothermal equipment
Repair and maintain geothermal machinery and equipment
Install heating and cooling equipment
Adjust machinery and equipment
Design equipment setups and layouts
Document operational activities
Communicate with geothermal plant workers
Follow health and safety rules

How to become one

You need a qualification to become a geothermal technician and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Required: a New Zealand Certificate in Energy and Chemical Field Operations (Level 4) or similar; a driver licence. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Energy and Chemical Process Operations (Level 5); a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering, geology, earth sciences or similar area; a Postgraduate Certificate in Geothermal Energy Technology; a driver licence with a special-type vehicle endorsement; experience in similar work.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand
University: Science degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
Certificates and diplomas: Entry certificates in manufacturing engineering. TEC links this job to study in manufacturing engineering and technology. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Manufacturing. Usually 4 months. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $36,000 a year one year after study; 27% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).

Pay · AI and this job

Most common pay: $109,000 to $163,000 a year (median $143,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $64,000 a year · Upper: $178,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 12 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Other Building and Engineering Technicians, 20% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Other Building and Engineering Technicians work (2023 Census): Auckland 32.6%, Waikato 12.2%, and Canterbury 11.3%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a geothermal technician?

How much does a geothermal technician earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $143,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $109,000 to $163,000 a year.

Will AI change the work of a geothermal technician?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026