Also called: Reclamation Specialist, Mine Land Reclamation Technician
Turns finished mine sites back into forests, grasslands or wetlands by reshaping land, planting and monitoring water.
You walk a closed mine site checking that new trees are surviving and that runoff water meets limits. You collect water samples, record plant counts and flag erosion for the dozer crew to fix. Years later, deer graze where giant trucks once drove.
Estimated from BLS environmental science technicians.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate's or bachelor's in environmental science, forestry or soil science.
Ways in: 2-year college, 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Environmental Science, Forestry, Soil Science.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Environmental science technicians overall.
Low risk for 10 years. Drones and satellite images track regrowth; replanting land and testing water stay field work.
Classes: Biology, Environmental science, Earth science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-4042.
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.