Synthetic Data Engineer

Also called: Simulation Data Engineer

Creates realistic fake data, like computer-generated street scenes or medical records, to train AI safely.

A day in the life

You generate 10,000 simulated rainy-night driving scenes to teach a self-driving car what a cyclist looks like in the dark. You check that the fake data is realistic enough to help, and that fake patient records cannot be traced back to real people.

Pay over a career

Starting
$100k
Typical
$155k
High
$230k

Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.

Training

Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's or master's in computer science, graphics or statistics.

Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.

Majors to look at: Computer Science, Statistics, Computer Graphics.

Outlook

Growing much faster than average. Growing as real-world data runs short and privacy rules tighten.

Will it last? Our AI estimate

Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Demand rises as AI needs more training data; generators get more automated, but checking realism and bias stays human.

Start now, in high school

Classes: AP Statistics, AP Computer Science A, Art or 3D design.

Official data: O*NET occupation 15-1252.

More Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning careers

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.