Also called: Laboratory Glassblower
Handcrafts custom glass equipment for chemistry labs, universities, and tech companies.
Using torches and lathes, they shape glass tubes into custom flasks, coils, and vacuum equipment that scientists design for experiments. Each piece is one of a kind. Only a few hundred work in the US.
Estimate; tiny field with a looming shortage as glassblowers retire.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Salem Community College offers the only US degree in scientific glass technology; apprenticeships are common.
Ways in: 2-year college, Apprenticeship. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Scientific Glass Technology.
Growing about average. Very few practitioners; steady demand from labs.
Low risk for 10 years. Custom one-off lab glass is shaped by hand at the torch; few people train, so skilled glassblowers stay in demand.
Classes: Chemistry, Physics, Art 3-D Design or glass.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9195.
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.