Also called: Laser Scientist
Designs and builds new kinds of lasers, from tiny chip lasers to giant ones used for fusion research.
You might spend the day at a national lab coaxing a new laser crystal to produce more power without cracking. You read the beam with cameras and meters, tweak cooling and alignment, and log every change. Some laser physicists work at companies making lasers for surgery, manufacturing, or defense.
Rolled into BLS physicists category.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in physics or optics; strong lab and electronics skills.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Optical Sciences, Electrical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 7% over 10 years). Growth figure is for physicists and astronomers combined.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI tunes designs and logs data, but coaxing new lasers to work on a real bench stays hands-on, in a growing field.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, Electronics CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2012.
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.