According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average median salary for a civil engineer with a bachelor’s degree is $79,340 a year, though salaries can be much higher depending on company and geography. According to my Stanford-educated friend, if you also have a one-year masters in geotechnical engineering, your salary will be at least 20% higher. With geotech salaries going up around 4% a year, plus profit-sharing, “you are making six figures in no time,” he added.

But what – for the love of Albert Atterberg – is geotechnical engineering? According to whatisgeotech.org, “geotechnical engineering is the science that explains mechanics of soil and rock and its applications to the development of human kind. It includes, without being limited to, the analysis, design and construction of foundations, slopes, retaining structures, embankments, roadways, tunnels, levees, wharves, landfills and other system that are made of or are supported by soil or rock.”

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2015/01/15/the-in-demand-high-pay-easy-entry-stem-job-youve-likely-never-heard-of/#11e7c4ed6b70