Also called: Chip Security Engineer
Protects computer chips and devices from being hacked physically, like by zapping or probing them.
You attack your own company's new chip in a lab, measuring tiny changes in its power use to try to steal its secret keys. When you succeed, you help the designers fix the weakness before millions of chips are made.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's or master's in electrical or computer engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Tracks computer hardware engineers.
Low risk for 10 years. Attacks on chips need hands-on lab work with probes and lasers; AI only assists design checks.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2061.
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.