Also called: Clay Sculptor, Design Modeler
Sculpts full-size cars out of clay so designers and executives can see and touch a design before it's built.
A milling machine roughs out a car shape in clay, and you finish it by hand with scrapers and slicks, adjusting a fender line by a millimeter at a designer's request. Then the clay gets covered with a film so it looks like painted metal.
Estimated; a rare and specialized craft.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate or bachelor's in industrial design or sculpture, plus apprenticeship-style training at studios.
Ways in: 2-year college, 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Industrial Design, Sculpture, Transportation Design.
Growing slowly. Small niche; digital modeling replaces some clay work but automakers still use it.
Medium risk for 10 years. Digital modeling, VR reviews and 5-axis milling cut clay hours; hand finishing stays, with fewer modelers.
Classes: Art or sculpture, Geometry, Woodshop.
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.