Also called: Instrument Scientist, Telescope Instrumentation Scientist
Designs and builds the cameras and spectrographs that attach to telescopes and space observatories.
You might test a new infrared camera in a cold vacuum chamber, fly to Chile to install it on a telescope, and spend nights getting it working. Instrument scientists at NASA built the cameras on Hubble and JWST.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in astronomy, physics, or optics; some engineering-heavy roles take a master's.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Astronomy, Optical Sciences, Electrical Engineering.
Growing about average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Low risk for 10 years. Building and testing cameras and spectrographs, then installing them on telescopes, is hands-on work.
Classes: AP Physics C, Electronics CTE, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2011.
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.