Also called: Stream Restoration Operator, River Restoration Excavator Operator
Runs excavators in creeks and rivers, placing boulders and logs exactly where designers want them to rebuild natural bends, pools and fish habitat.
You ease an excavator into a shallow creek and set a two-ton boulder where the engineer marked a stake. Then you lock a whole tree, roots and all, into the bank to create a pool for trout. A biologist watches nearby to make sure you don't harm fish.
Estimated from heavy equipment operator pay at restoration contractors.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma plus heavy equipment experience.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Trade school, Apprenticeship. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Heavy Equipment Operation (trade school).
Growing faster than average. Federal and state funding for river and fish habitat restoration has grown.
Low risk for 10 years. GPS guidance helps, but careful excavator work in streams stays a skilled human job.
Classes: Shop CTE, Earth science, Biology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 47-2073.
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.