Also called: Soft Robotics Engineer
Builds squishy robots from rubber and fabric that can grip delicate fruit or move like octopuses.
You cast silicone fingers in 3D-printed molds, pump air into them, and test how gently they pick up a strawberry. Then you iterate on shapes and materials.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 8 years after high school. PhD or master's in mechanical engineering, robotics or materials science.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Materials Science.
Growing faster than average. Small research field; grows with food handling and medical uses.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps simulate squishy materials; molding, testing and inventing new soft robots stays hands-on research.
Classes: AP Physics, Chemistry, AP Biology, Art or sculpture.
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.