Also called: Microsystems Engineer, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Engineer
Designs microscopic machines on chips, like the motion sensors in phones and the tiny microphones in earbuds.
You design a vibrating structure thinner than a hair, run it through the cleanroom, and test whether it senses motion accurately. Then you tweak the design for the next wafer run.
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 electrical or mechanical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Electronics engineers overall.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps design and simulate tiny structures; cleanroom fabrication, testing and fixing chip-scale devices stay human research work.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Electronics class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2072.
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