Also called: Interplanetary Navigation Engineer
Steers robotic probes across billions of miles to hit targets like Mars or Saturn's moons.
You analyze tiny shifts in a probe's radio signal to measure its speed to a fraction of a millimeter per second, then design a course correction months before arrival.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 9 years after high school. Master's or PhD in aerospace engineering or physics.
Ways in: Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Astronomy.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Part of BLS aerospace engineers category.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps process tracking data; navigating one-of-a-kind missions across the solar system stays elite human work.
Classes: AP Calculus, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science, Astronomy.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2011.
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