Also called: Biomanufacturing Engineer, Fermentation Engineer
Scales up living cells, yeast and bacteria to make medicines, vaccines and new foods.
You suit up in a clean gown to check a 2,000-liter steel tank where cells are growing a cancer drug. You adjust oxygen and feeding so the cells stay happy, then analyze data to figure out why last week's batch made less medicine.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in chemical or biological engineering; master's common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biochemistry.
Growing faster than average. Biotech manufacturing is expanding in the U.S.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps model cell growth and pick conditions; running bioreactors, scale-up and FDA-quality manufacturing stay hands-on.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2041.
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