Also called: Complex Fluids Scientist
Studies squishy stuff like gels, foams, sand, paint, and living tissue.
You might film droplets splashing at 100,000 frames per second, or figure out why ketchup is hard to pour. Food, cosmetics, and paint companies hire soft-matter physicists to design better products.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in physics, chemical engineering, or materials science.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science.
Growing about average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI helps analyze high-speed video and predict mixtures; splash and gel experiments and product work stay hands-on.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus.
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.