Also called: QEC Researcher, Fault-Tolerance Theorist
Figures out how to protect quantum computers from their own errors, the biggest hurdle to making them useful.
Qubits are so fragile that a stray vibration can scramble them. You design clever codes that spread information across many qubits so mistakes can be caught and fixed. Your day is math, simulations, and meetings with hardware teams testing your ideas.
Quantum jobs are new and not tracked separately by BLS; figures are estimates from industry salary surveys and related occupations.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. PhD in physics, mathematics, or computer science.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science.
Growing much faster than average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI now discovers some codes and decoders; designing schemes with hardware teams stays human, in a hot field.
Classes: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science.
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.