Also called: Pinball Designer, Game Machine Engineer
Designs the ramps, flippers, magnets and electronics of pinball and arcade machines.
You bolt a new ramp onto a prototype pinball table and play it 50 times to see if shots feel satisfying. Then you adjust a magnet that grabs the ball and rewrite the code for the light show.
Only a handful of U.S. companies build pinball machines.
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 mechanical or electrical engineering; game design experience helps.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Game Design.
Growing about average. Small, competitive niche; not tracked separately by BLS.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps code game rules and draw parts; designing physical play and testing the feel stays hands-on.
Classes: Physics, Electronics CTE, Art or design, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2141.
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