Also called: Vehicle Safety Engineer
Smashes cars into walls on purpose to make them safer.
Crash test engineers set up high-speed cameras and sensor-packed dummies, run crash tests at places like the IIHS or carmakers' labs, and analyze every millisecond of the data.
Based on mechanical engineers data.
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 biomedical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Automotive Engineering.
Growing much faster than average (about 9% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. Virtual crash simulation and AI analysis replace some physical tests, so fewer test slots; physical certification crashes still need engineers.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, CAD/engineering CTE, Computer Science.
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.