Also called: Laboratory Glassblower, Glass Instrument Maker
Shapes custom glass equipment for labs, from twisted tubes for chemistry experiments to parts for lasers and semiconductors.
A chemistry professor brings you a sketch of a weird three-armed flask no company sells. You spin glass tubing in a torch flame at 2,000 degrees, bending and joining it by hand. Some scientific glassblowers work at national labs on parts for particle physics experiments.
Estimated; a tiny field with an aging workforce.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate degree in scientific glass technology (Salem Community College in NJ is the main US program) or apprenticeship.
Ways in: 2-year college, Apprenticeship. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Scientific Glass Technology.
Growing about average. No BLS projection; many glassblowers are retiring, so openings appear.
Low risk for 10 years. Custom lab and laser glass is one-off hand work; few people know it, so skilled glassblowers stay in demand.
Classes: Chemistry, Physics, Art.
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.