Also called: Lander Systems Engineer
Builds the spacecraft that touch down on the Moon carrying cargo, rovers, and eventually astronauts.
You test landing legs by dropping a lander onto a slope, tune the landing software in simulations, and stay up through the night when your lander attempts touchdown 240,000 miles away.
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 aerospace or mechanical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
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 in 5 years, medium in 10. AI speeds design and landing simulation; building and testing landers in a fast-growing field stays human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, CAD class, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2011.
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