Also called: Live-Fire Test Engineer, Vulnerability Analyst
Figures out how to keep aircraft, ships and vehicles—and the people inside—alive when they're hit.
You model which parts of a helicopter are most at risk, plan a live-fire test on a real airframe, and recommend armor, redundant wiring or fire suppression. Your recommendations can decide whether a crew gets home safely.
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 aerospace or mechanical engineering; clearance required.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Aerospace engineers overall.
Low risk for 10 years. AI speeds damage modeling; live tests and judgment about protecting crews stay human and classified.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Computer science, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2011.
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.