Also called: Guidance and Control Engineer
Designs the software and hardware that turn a pilot's stick movements (or an autopilot's commands) into smooth, stable flight.
You tune control laws in a simulator, then sit in a full cockpit mock-up and try to make the virtual plane misbehave. When a test pilot says the jet feels twitchy in crosswinds, you trace the cause through your equations and adjust.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's in aerospace or electrical engineering; control-theory master's is common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Part of BLS aerospace engineers category.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps design and test control laws in simulation; flight testing and safety-critical certification stay human.
Classes: AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Computer Science, Electronics class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2011.
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.