Also called: Mission Data Scientist, Science Data Engineer
Builds the software and machine-learning pipelines that turn raw spacecraft data into maps, images, and discoveries.
You write Python code that processes a night's worth of telescope images, train a model to find unusual objects, and fix a pipeline that broke when the spacecraft changed modes.
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 computer science, physics, or data science; master's common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Data Science, Physics, Computer Science.
Growing much faster than average (about 34% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI coding tools build pipelines faster, so fewer junior coders; designing analyses scientists can trust stays human.
Classes: AP Computer Science, AP Statistics, AP Physics, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-2051.
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