Also called: NHTSA Safety Defects Engineer, Recall Investigator
Investigates whether cars have safety defects and pushes for recalls when they do.
A defect investigator reviews consumer complaints about airbags or brakes, inspects crashed vehicles, tests parts, and builds cases that can lead to recalls of millions of cars.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in mechanical or automotive engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering.
Growing much faster than average (about 8% over 10 years). BLS 2025-35 projection band for SOC 17-2141: Much faster than average (7% or higher).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI mines complaint and crash data for defects; inspecting cars and pushing recalls stay human, with fewer analysts.
Classes: AP Physics, Auto tech CTE, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2141.
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.