Finds and marks buried gas, power, and fiber lines before anyone digs.
You walk a job site with a radio detector, trace a buried gas line, and spray paint yellow lines so an excavator does not hit it.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. A high school diploma plus several months of on-the-job training with a locating company; NULCA certification is optional.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing about average. No separate BLS projection for this specialty; rating is an estimate based on industry trends.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Digital utility maps and ground-penetrating radar with AI may cut field locating; someone still verifies and marks lines.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to locating companies like USIC; they hire with no experience and train you
Classes: Earth science, Algebra, Geography or GIS.
Official data: O*NET occupation 47-4099.
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.