Also called: Chess Grandmaster
Plays chess professionally in tournaments and online.
A pro chess player studies openings with computer engines, plays tournaments, and streams games online. Most also coach students to make a steady income.
Extremely variable; streaming helps.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No degree; years of serious study and rated tournament play, often with a coach, to earn titles and enough rating to win prize money.
Ways in: Self-taught. Training cost: Under $15k.
Growing about average. Niche.
Low risk for 10 years. Engines are far stronger, but fans watch human players and online chess is booming; few earn a full living.
Classes: Math, Logic or computer science, Psychology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-2021.
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.