Also called: Engine Calibrator (Aftermarket), Dyno Tuner
Rewrites the software in a car's engine computer, then tests it on a dynamometer to get more power or better mileage without hurting the engine.
A customer's turbo car is strapped to the dyno, its wheels spinning on rollers in a soundproof room. You change fuel and timing tables on a laptop, run it up through the gears and watch the knock and air-fuel readings. After a dozen runs you've found 40 extra horsepower without risking the engine.
Shop owners and well-known tuners earn much more; pay depends on reputation.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 2 years after high school. Automotive or motorsports technology program, then years learning at a tuning shop.
Ways in: Trade school, On-the-job training, Self-taught. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Automotive Technology (trade school), High-Performance Motorsports Technology.
Growing about average. Steady niche; electric cars and emissions rules are slowly changing the business.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Software suggests engine maps, but tuning each real engine on a dyno and protecting it stays hands-on.
Classes: Auto shop CTE, Physics, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 49-3023.
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.