Also called: Groundwater Geologist, Groundwater Scientist
Finds and protects groundwater in aquifers, and tracks pollution moving underground.
You oversee drilling a monitoring well, examine rock cores, and run pump tests to see how fast water flows through an aquifer. Then you model where a spill of gasoline underground will travel and how to stop it.
Geoscientists overall.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's in geology; master's common; Professional Geologist (PG) license.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Geology, Hydrogeology, Earth Science.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Geoscientists.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps read well and sensor data; field sampling, drilling oversight and licensed reports stay human.
Classes: Earth science, Chemistry, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2042.
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.