Also called: ISO 26262 Engineer, Safety-Critical Software Engineer
Makes sure the electronics and software in cars, robots and factory machines fail safely if something goes wrong.
A self-driving car's braking computer must never freeze. You map every way the software could fail, check that a backup chip takes over within milliseconds, and document it all for safety auditors.
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 electrical, computer or mechanical engineering; TUV functional safety certification.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering.
Growing faster than average. Driven by electric and self-driving cars.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI drafts safety documents and checks code; certification decisions and expert review stay human.
Classes: AP Computer Science, Physics, Electronics class, Statistics.
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.