Also called: Seismic QC Observer, Seismic Navigator
Works on survey ships towing miles-long cables that map the seafloor and rock beneath it.
You sit in the ship's instrument room watching screens of sound-wave data for bad readings, logging every shot and keeping the cables in position. Rotations are usually five weeks at sea, five weeks home.
Offshore rotation pay; work is cyclical.
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 geophysics, geology or physics, or a technical background.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Geophysics, Geology, Physics.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Geological technicians overall; offshore wind surveys add work.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Survey ships automate cable control and data checks; fewer observers per voyage, and offshore surveys may shrink.
Classes: Physics, Earth science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-4043.
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.