Also called: Rocket Technician, Integration Technician
Assembles rockets by hand: plumbing propellant lines, torquing bolts, and installing engines.
You follow detailed instructions to install a valve on a rocket stage, then leak-check it with helium. Shifts can be long when a launch is coming, but you get to say you built the rocket.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma plus mechanical skill; A&P license, military, or trade school experience helps.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Trade school, Military, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Aviation Maintenance Technology (trade school), Industrial Maintenance.
Growing much faster than average (about 8% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. Robots help with some welding, but plumbing, torquing and assembling rockets by hand stays human.
Classes: Shop class, Welding CTE, Auto shop, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 49-9041.
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.