Also called: Ski Lift Engineer, Ropeway Project Engineer
Designs and installs chairlifts, gondolas and aerial trams that carry skiers and city commuters over mountains and rivers.
You lay out the towers for a new high-speed chairlift on a topo map, checking cable sag, wind and clearance over trees. In summer you are on the mountain as helicopters fly in tower sections. After testing with sandbags in every chair, state inspectors sign off.
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 mechanical or civil engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering.
Growing about average. Ski resorts keep upgrading lifts, and cities are building urban gondolas.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Design software automates calculations, but site work, installs and safety decisions on real mountains stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Engineering CTE, Shop class.
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.