Also called: Wood Technologist, Forest Products Engineer
Studies wood as a material and develops better lumber, engineered wood, glues and treatments.
You might test how much weight a new glued-wood beam holds before it snaps with a loud crack in the lab. Another day you visit a mill to cut down on warping in their kiln-dried boards. Some wood scientists work on wood-based plastics and even wooden skyscraper parts.
Estimated from BLS forester/materials scientist ranges; a small field.
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 wood science or forest products (Oregon State, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State); research jobs need a master's or PhD.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Wood Science, Forest Products, Materials Science, Forestry.
Growing about average. No specific BLS projection; mass timber construction is driving new demand.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps analyze data, but testing new wood products, glues and treatments in the lab stays human, and mass timber is growing.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1032.
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.