Also called: ROV Technician, Subsea Robotics Technician
Flies remotely operated underwater robots from a ship to explore, repair, and film the deep sea.
From a control room on a ship, you steer a robot two miles down with joysticks, using its arms to collect samples or fix underwater pipelines. Shifts are 12 hours on rotations of weeks at sea.
Offshore pay is high but comes with long rotations away from home.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate degree in electronics or marine technology, or military training; ROV pilot courses available.
Ways in: 2-year college, Military, Trade school, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Marine Technology (2-year), Electronics Technology, Ocean Engineering.
Growing faster than average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Underwater robots get more autonomy, but steering them for repairs and science stays skilled human work for now.
Classes: Physics, Electronics CTE, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 49-9099.
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.