Also called: Recycling Program Manager, Waste Reduction Specialist
Designs programs that help a city, campus, or company throw away less and recycle and compost more.
You dig through a dumpster (yes, really) in a 'waste audit' to see what people are throwing out, then design better signs, compost programs, and reuse events. You teach school assemblies and analyze diversion data.
Estimate.
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 environmental studies, sustainability, or communications.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Environmental Studies, Sustainability, Communications.
Growing faster than average. New state laws on packaging and food waste are adding jobs.
Low risk for 10 years. AI drafts outreach and tracks data; running programs and changing people's habits stay human.
Classes: Environmental science, Speech, Statistics.
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.