Also called: MRI Systems Engineer, Imaging Scientist
Designs MRI, CT, ultrasound and X-ray machines and the software that turns their signals into pictures.
You test a new MRI scan sequence on a jelly-filled 'phantom' head, then on a volunteer. The images are blurry in one spot, so you dig into the physics and reconstruction code to sharpen them.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's or PhD in biomedical or electrical engineering or physics.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI now reconstructs and reads images, changing what engineers build; hardware design, validation and FDA testing stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Computer Science, AP Calculus, AP Biology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2031.
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.