Also called: Telescope Technician, Instrument Technician
Maintains telescopes, mirrors, and instruments at observatories.
You clean and recoat a mirror, fix a dome motor, and fill instrument cryostats with liquid nitrogen. Mountaintop sites can be cold, high, and stunning.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate degree in electronics or mechanics.
Ways in: 2-year college, On-the-job training, Military. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Electronics Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology.
Growing slowly. Few positions, mostly at large observatories.
Low risk for 10 years. Remote monitoring helps, but fixing telescopes and instruments on mountaintops stays hands-on.
Classes: Electronics CTE, Shop class, Physics, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-4012.
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