Also called: Kurabito, Craft Sake Maker
Brews Japanese rice wine in one of the few American sake breweries, polishing rice, growing koji mold and guiding a slow, cold fermentation.
At 5 a.m. she checks the koji room, where steamed rice dusted with mold spores has grown a sweet, chestnut-smelling fuzz overnight. She mixes it into a fermenting tank, takes a temperature and sugar reading, and logs everything. In the afternoon she presses a finished batch and pours tastings for visitors.
Estimate; there are only about 25-30 craft sake breweries in the US.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 2 years after high school. Often a degree in fermentation or food science, but many learn as assistants; short sake courses help.
Ways in: On-the-job training, 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Fermentation Science, Food Science, Microbiology.
Growing faster than average. US craft sake is small but growing fast from a tiny base.
Low risk for 10 years. Sensors track temperature and sugar, but judging koji and fermentation by smell, taste and feel stays human.
Classes: Chemistry, Biology, Japanese.
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.