Also called: Lightning Effects Engineer, Aircraft E3 / Lightning Engineer
Makes sure airplanes survive lightning strikes, which hit the average airliner about once a year, without fires or fried electronics.
You design copper mesh to bury inside a carbon-fiber wing so lightning has a safe path out. Then you go to a test lab where a giant generator blasts a wing panel with 200,000 amps. You check for sparks near the fuel tank and burned wiring, and write the report the FAA will review.
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 electrical or aerospace engineering; master's helps.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics.
Growing about average. Composite aircraft and electric aircraft need new lightning designs.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Simulation and AI help predict strike effects, but certification testing and sign-off stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Electronics class, Chemistry.
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.