Also called: Coastal & Ocean Engineer, Shoreline Engineer
Protects beaches, harbors and coastal towns from waves, storms and rising seas.
You study how hurricane waves would hit a beach town and design sand dunes, sea walls or oyster-reef breakwaters to protect it. Some days you're on a boat measuring waves; others you're building a model of the coast in a wave tank.
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 civil or ocean engineering; master's preferred.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Civil Engineering, Ocean Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. AI and satellites improve storm and erosion forecasts; beach surveys, project design and judgment on seawalls stay human.
Classes: Earth science, Physics, Environmental science, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2051.
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.