Also called: Lab Planner, Science Facility Planner
Plans the layout of research labs, from fume hoods and benches to the air and gas lines scientists need to work safely.
You interview a team of chemists about how they actually work, then sketch where each bench, sink, freezer and fume hood should go. In the afternoon you check that a new vaccine lab keeps clean and dirty areas apart and that the air flows the right way.
Estimated; lab planners at large design firms earn above typical architects.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 5 years after high school. Bachelor's or master's in architecture; some come from lab-science backgrounds.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Architecture, Interior Architecture, Chemistry, Biology.
Growing about average. Steady work from universities, hospitals and biotech, which keep building labs.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Software can draft standard lab layouts fast; interviewing scientists and solving safety puzzles stays human.
Classes: Chemistry, Biology, Art or drafting, Geometry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-1011.
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.