Also called: Bridge Safety Inspector, Structures Inspector
Climbs, rappels, and crawls over bridges to look for cracks, rust, and damage.
You rappel down a bridge pier or ride a snooper truck under the deck, tapping concrete with a hammer and photographing cracks. Some inspectors dive to check underwater foundations.
Estimated.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 3 years after high school. Associate or bachelor's in civil engineering technology plus FHWA bridge inspection certification.
Ways in: 2-year college, 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Civil Engineering Technology, Civil Engineering.
Growing about average. Steady; federal law requires regular inspection of every public bridge.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Drones and AI scans find cracks faster; hands-on inspection and certified judgment stay, with fewer inspectors per bridge.
Classes: Physics, Geometry, Earth science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 47-4011.
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.