Also called: Direct Lithium Extraction Engineer
Develops ways to pull lithium out of salty underground brines and rocks for batteries.
You run a pilot plant in the Nevada desert or Arkansas oil country that pumps up brine, captures lithium with special materials, and returns the water underground.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in chemical or mining engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Chemistry.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI speeds process modeling for new extraction methods; piloting plants in the field still needs engineers.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Earth science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2041.
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