Also called: Rope Access Blade Technician
Hangs from ropes on the outside of turbine blades to repair cracks and lightning damage.
You rappel down a blade 250 feet in the air, sand away damage, and rebuild it with fiberglass and resin, all while hanging in a harness.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. Composite repair training plus IRATA or SPRAT rope access certification.
Ways in: Certification, Trade school, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Composites Technology, Wind Energy Technology.
Growing much faster than average (about 50% over 10 years). Uses BLS wind turbine technicians projection.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Blade-crawling robots and drones are being tested for repairs; most rope-access composite work is still done by hand.
Classes: Shop class, Art or sculpture, Weight training.
Official data: O*NET occupation 49-9081.
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.