Also called: CCR Compliance Manager, Ash Pond Specialist
Tracks groundwater wells and closure plans for the ponds and landfills holding coal ash at power plants, under federal rules adopted in 2015.
You walk an ash pond at a coal plant, checking the dike for seepage. Then you collect groundwater samples from monitoring wells and compare results with federal limits. In the afternoon you update the public website the rules require, showing test results to neighbors.
Estimated from utility and environmental consulting postings.
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 environmental science, geology or engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Environmental Science, Geology, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering.
Growing about average. Ash ponds must be monitored and closed for decades, even after coal plants retire.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps sort data and drafts reports, but sampling and compliance decisions stay human.
Classes: Earth science, Chemistry, Environmental science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2041.
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.