Also called: Injector Engineer, Thrust Chamber Engineer
Specializes in the hottest part of the rocket: the injector and chamber where fuel and oxygen burn.
You redesign the pattern of tiny holes in an injector plate so the flame burns smoothly instead of shaking the engine apart. Then you watch high-speed video of a test firing looking for signs of instability.
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/mechanical engineering; master's or PhD in combustion is common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Part of BLS aerospace engineers category.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps model combustion, but injector design needs hot-fire testing and hard-won human intuition.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Calculus, Shop 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.