Also called: AMO Physicist, Neutral-Atom Quantum Scientist
Uses lasers to trap individual atoms and turn them into qubits or ultra-precise sensors.
Your lab is a maze of lasers aimed at a vacuum chamber where single atoms float, held in place by electric fields or beams of light. You fire precisely timed laser pulses to make the atoms compute. Companies like IonQ, Quantinuum, and QuEra hire these scientists.
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 atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Physics, Optical Sciences.
Growing much faster than average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Low risk for 10 years. Running mazes of lasers on single atoms is hands-on lab work; quantum startups compete for these scientists.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry.
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.