Also called: Placer Mine Operator, Gold Wash Plant Operator
Digs gold-bearing gravel from creeks and old riverbeds, mostly in Alaska, and washes it through sluices to catch the gold.
In the Alaska summer the sun barely sets, so you run an excavator 12 hours a day feeding gravel into a rumbling wash plant. Water carries the gravel over riffled sluice boxes where heavy gold settles. Once a week you "clean up" the boxes and pan out the flakes and nuggets, hoping it covers the fuel bill.
Seasonal; owners can lose money or earn a lot depending on gold found and gold prices.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. High school; learned on the job running heavy equipment.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Self-taught. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Heavy Equipment Operation (trade school), Mining Technology.
Growing about average. High gold prices keep small mines running.
Low risk for 10 years. Better equipment and mapping help, but running machines in remote creeks stays human, physical work.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to Alaska placer mining operations for summer jobs; get surface miner training First: MSHA surface miner training (24 hours)
Classes: Earth science, Shop class, Auto shop, Business 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.