Also called: Space Food Systems Specialist
Creates food that is safe, tasty, and lasts years for astronauts in space.
You cook up a new freeze-dried dish, run taste tests with astronauts, and test whether it still tastes good after two years in storage for a Mars trip.
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 food science; master's common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Food Science, Nutrition, Chemistry.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps design recipes and shelf-life tests; cooking, tasting and safety testing stay hands-on.
Classes: Chemistry, Biology, Family and consumer science, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1012.
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.