Also called: Odor Judge, Product Tester
Gets paid to taste, smell, or feel products and rate them in careful detail.
Trained panelists taste potato chips or pet food, smell deodorant on test volunteers (yes, really, as 'odor judges'), or rate how fabric feels, using precise vocabularies to describe differences.
Usually part-time hourly work.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. No degree; selection based on sensory skill, then on-the-job training.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing slowly. No separate BLS projection; estimate based on related occupations.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Human perception is the product, but better consumer-data AI could mean fewer panel hours per launch.
Age 18+. One way to start: Sign up for paid taste panels at sensory testing labs or food companies near you
Classes: Culinary arts, Biology, English (descriptive), Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9061.
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.