Also called: Planetary Data System Specialist
Organizes and preserves all of NASA's planetary mission data so anyone can use it for decades.
You check that a mission's data files are properly labeled, write documentation, and help a student in another country find old Voyager images.
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 a science or computer science.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Computer Science, Library and Information Science, Planetary Science.
Growing about average. Small number of NASA-funded positions.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI tools organize and tag data automatically, shrinking archive teams; data standards and quality stay human.
Classes: Computer science, Statistics, Earth science, English composition.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1243.
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.