Also called: Snow Safety Director, Avalanche Specialist
Studies snowpack and weather to predict avalanche danger for ski resorts, highways, and backcountry users.
They dig snow pits to study layers, read weather data, and publish daily avalanche forecasts. At resorts and on highways, they use explosives to trigger controlled avalanches before people arrive.
Estimate.
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 geoscience or meteorology plus AIARE avalanche training and years of experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Geology, Meteorology, Environmental Science.
Growing about average. Small, specialized field.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Snowpack models and AI improve forecasts; digging pits and judging the snow in the field stay human.
Classes: Earth science, AP Physics, AP Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2021.
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.