Also called: Soil Carbon Field Technician, Carbon Measurement Technician
Drives a truck with a hydraulic probe across farms and ranches, pulling deep soil cores so labs can measure how much carbon the land is storing.
You plug GPS points into a tablet and drive a pickup with a soil probe across a Kansas field. At each point you push the probe three feet down and bag the core in sections. By evening you've sampled 80 points and ship them to a lab that checks carbon for a credit program.
Estimated from carbon program and ag consulting postings; much of the work is seasonal.
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 soil science, agronomy or environmental science; some hire with farm experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Soil Science, Agronomy, Environmental Science.
Growing faster than average. Farm carbon programs and research are adding sampling jobs.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Sensors and satellites may cut some sampling, but carbon programs still need verified soil cores.
Classes: Earth science, Chemistry, Ag science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-4099.
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.