Also called: Survey Data Scientist, Astroinformatics Scientist
Builds software and AI to handle enormous sky surveys like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's 10-year movie of the sky.
Rubin will produce about 20 terabytes of data every night. You write pipelines that spot new supernovas and asteroids within minutes and send alerts to astronomers worldwide.
Based on data scientists; research-institution pay is lower than tech.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's or PhD in astronomy, physics, or computer science.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Astronomy, Physics, Computer Science, Data Science.
Growing much faster than average (about 34% over 10 years). Growth is for data scientists overall.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI pipelines increasingly classify sky alerts on their own; fewer pipeline coders, more who validate and design systems.
Classes: AP Computer Science, AP Statistics, AP Physics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 15-2051.
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.