Also called: DPAA Recovery Leader, Forensic Recovery Archaeologist
Leads digs at World War II, Korea and Vietnam crash sites and battlefields worldwide to recover missing U.S. service members so they can come home.
For 45 days you lead a team on a jungle ridge in Laos where a fighter jet crashed in 1968. Soldiers and local workers dig and screen every bucket of soil while you map each find: a boot sole, a dog tag, a small bone. Back home, lab scientists use DNA to identify the pilot, and his family finally gets to bury him.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's or PhD in anthropology or archaeology with forensic training.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Anthropology, Archaeology, Forensic Science.
Growing about average. Tied to federal funding; more than 80,000 Americans are still missing.
Low risk for 10 years. Drones and lidar help find crash sites; leading digs, identifying bone fragments and working with families stay human.
Classes: AP Biology, AP US History, A world language.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-3091.
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