Also called: Thin Film Engineer, Coating Process Engineer
Designs the ultra-thin layers on lenses, mirrors and screens that stop glare or reflect exactly the right colors.
You load glass lenses into a vacuum chamber where metals are vaporized and deposited in layers just a few atoms thick. Afterward you test whether the anti-reflection coating lets 99.9% of the light through.
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 physics, materials science or optical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Optical Engineering, Optics & Photonics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science.
Growing faster than average. Not tracked separately by BLS; photonics demand is growing with AI data centers, lidar and AR.
Low risk for 10 years. AI optimizes layer recipes; running vacuum coating chambers and solving process problems stays hands-on.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Physics, Algebra II, Art or photography.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2199.
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.