Also called: HABS/HAER Architect, Measured Drawings Specialist
Measures historic buildings, bridges and landscapes in exact detail and draws them for the Library of Congress’s permanent record.
You and a small team climb through a 1880s iron bridge with tape measures and a laser scanner. Back in the office you turn the data into precise ink-style drawings that will be archived for hundreds of years.
Estimated; includes federal and consultant roles; student summer jobs pay less.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 5 years after high school. Bachelor's or master's in architecture, landscape architecture or historic preservation.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Architecture, Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture.
Growing about average. Small field; federal review rules keep documentation steady.
Medium risk for 10 years. Laser scanners and AI speed measuring and drafting; deciding what matters historically stays human.
Classes: Drafting or CAD, U.S. History, Art.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.