Also called: Fragrance Creator, 'Nose'
Creates new scents for perfumes, shampoos, candles and laundry detergent by blending hundreds of natural and synthetic ingredients.
You sniff paper strips dipped in your latest trial blend and decide it needs a hint more bergamot. You write the new formula, a lab technician mixes it, and you test it in a shampoo base. Training your nose to recognize over a thousand smells takes years.
Highly variable; a small number of famous perfumers earn much more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 7 years after high school. Usually a chemistry degree plus a multi-year apprenticeship at a fragrance house or perfumery school.
Ways in: 4-year college, Apprenticeship, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemistry, Perfumery (specialized school).
Growing about average. Very small field; few positions open each year.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI suggests formulas and predicts scents, but judging smell and creating a brand's signature scent remain a rare human art.
Classes: AP Chemistry, Art, French.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2031.
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.