Also called: Behavioral Insights Specialist, Nudge Unit Researcher
Uses psychology experiments to make government programs work better, like getting more people to sign up for benefits or pay fines on time.
A behavioral scientist might test two versions of a reminder letter on 100,000 people to see which gets more parents to enroll kids in free school meals, then help the agency adopt the winner.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 9 years after high school. Usually a Ph.D. in psychology, economics, or a related field.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Psychology, Economics, Statistics.
Growing about average. Small but growing field.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI helps design messages and analyze experiment data; running ethical trials inside agencies stays human.
Classes: AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP Biology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-3039.
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.