Also called: Sanitation Commissioner, Director of Solid Waste Management
Runs a city's or county's entire garbage, recycling, and landfill system.
You oversee hundreds of trucks and drivers, a landfill, and recycling contracts worth millions. You negotiate with haulers, plan where trash will go in 30 years, and answer to the city council when collection misses a neighborhood.
Estimate; big-city sanitation commissioners earn the most.
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 engineering, environmental science, or public administration plus years of experience; SWANA certifications.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Environmental Engineering, Public Administration, Environmental Science.
Growing about average.
Low risk for 10 years. AI routes trucks and forecasts tonnage; leading staff, budgets and public decisions stay human.
Classes: Business, Earth science, Government.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-9199.
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.