Also called: Gravitational Physicist, LIGO Scientist
Detects ripples in space itself caused by colliding black holes and neutron stars.
You work with LIGO, whose detectors in Washington State and Louisiana use lasers in 2.5-mile-long tunnels to sense a stretch of space smaller than a proton. You might hunt for noise sources on site, or write code that searches the data for the 'chirp' of a black-hole merger.
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 astrophysics.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Astrophysics, Optical Sciences.
Growing about average. A small international field; jobs depend on research funding.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI searches detector data for signals; hunting noise on site and improving giant laser detectors stay human.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2012.
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