Also called: Industrial Microbiologist
Uses microbes as tiny factories to make medicines, enzymes, biofuels, beer, or lab-grown foods.
Tweaks the temperature and sugar feeding in a fermenter to get yeast to make more of a protein. Smells, samples, and charts the batch every few hours.
Estimate.
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 microbiology, biochemistry, or chemical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Microbiology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Estimate; precision fermentation is growing.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Sensors and AI tune fermenters; tasting, sampling and fixing contaminated batches stay hands-on.
Classes: Chemistry, Biology, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1022.
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.