Also called: MRI Scientist, MR Physicist
Invents new ways to use giant magnets and radio waves to see inside the body.
You write 'pulse sequences,' the instructions that tell an MRI scanner how to flip the magnets in your body's atoms, to image blood flow or brain activity. You test on volunteers and work with doctors and scanner companies.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in physics, biomedical engineering, or medical physics.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering.
Growing faster than average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI reconstructs images and designs some pulse sequences; testing new methods with volunteers and doctors stays human.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2012.
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