Also called: Crashworthiness Engineer, Occupant Safety Engineer
Designs cars, airbags and seatbelts so people survive crashes.
You simulate a car hitting a pole at 20 mph and see the door crumple too far. You redesign a steel beam, then watch a real crash test where a car slams into a barrier at 35 mph, and study the slow-motion video frame by frame.
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 biomedical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering.
Growing much faster than average (about 9% over 10 years). Tracks mechanical engineers (BLS 2024-34).
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI and simulation replace some physical crash tests and analysis; real tests and safety sign-off stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Anatomy, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2141.
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.