Also called: Robot Applications Engineer
Designs, programs and tests the industrial robots that weld, paint, pick and pack in modern factories.
Today you are teaching a six-axis robot arm to grab car doors off a rack without scratching them. You tweak the gripper design, simulate the motion on screen, then stand behind the safety fence with a teach pendant as it tries for real. When it drops a part, you figure out why.
Estimate; BLS groups robotics engineers under 'engineers, all other'.
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, electrical or robotics engineering; a master's helps for research roles.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Robotics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering.
Growing faster than average. No separate BLS projection; demand is rising as factories automate.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI speeds robot path planning and simulation; designing, testing and debugging real robot cells stays human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP Computer Science, Engineering CTE (PLTW).
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.