Also called: Plasma Diagnostics Physicist
Builds the instruments that measure what's happening inside a plasma too hot for anything to touch.
You design a laser that bounces off plasma to measure its temperature, install cameras and sensors on the machine, and calibrate them before each campaign.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in physics or engineering.
Ways in: Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Electrical Engineering.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). Fusion isn't tracked by BLS; private fusion companies have raised billions and are hiring fast, but commercial power is still years away.
Low risk for 10 years. AI processes diagnostic data fast, but building new instruments for a plasma is creative hands-on lab work.
Classes: AP Physics C, Electronics CTE class, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2012.
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