Also called: Air Safety Investigator, Transportation Accident Investigator, Go-Team Member
Investigates plane crashes, train derailments, pipeline explosions, and major highway crashes to find out why they happened.
When a crash happens, you might be on a plane within hours with the NTSB 'Go-Team.' At the scene you document wreckage, interview witnesses, and recover flight recorders. Back in Washington, you spend months analyzing data and writing safety recommendations.
Estimated from federal GS-13 to GS-15 pay.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 12 years after high school. Bachelor's in engineering, aviation, or a related field plus years of expert experience as a pilot, engineer, or mechanic.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Military, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aviation Safety, Human Factors.
Growing about average. Very small agency (about 400 staff); highly competitive.
Low risk for 10 years. AI speeds data and wreckage analysis; leading investigations and judging causes stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, English.
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.