Also called: Launch Licensing Specialist, Safety Engineer (AST)
Works for the FAA reviewing whether private rocket launches and reentries are safe enough to get a license.
You review a company's safety analysis for a new rocket, calculate risk to people on the ground, and sometimes fly to the launch site as a safety inspector.
Federal GS-12 to GS-15 pay.
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 engineering; government civil service.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
Growing faster than average. Growing with launch rates.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI reviews safety documents and runs checks faster; licensing decisions and site inspections stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Government or civics, English composition.
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.