Also called: Renewable Fuels Scientist
Develops fuels made from crops, algae, waste fats, and wood, including sustainable jet fuel.
You engineer microbes to turn corn stalks into fuel, test a new catalyst, and measure whether the resulting jet fuel meets aviation specs.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 9 years after high school. PhD for research leads; bachelor's or master's for lab roles.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry, Microbiology.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI and lab robots speed strain and catalyst screening; experiments and scale-up stay human-led.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Agriculture CTE class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1013.
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