Also called: Exobiologist
Searches for life beyond Earth and studies how life began here.
You might collect microbes from boiling hot springs in Yellowstone, test whether they could survive Mars conditions in a lab chamber, and help design a life-detection instrument for a mission to Europa.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in biology, chemistry, geology, or astronomy, with astrobiology focus.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Biology, Chemistry, Planetary Science.
Growing about average. Not tracked by BLS; tied to NASA funding.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps search data for life signs; lab and field research on life's limits stays human.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Earth science, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1029.
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.