Exploring other worlds and searching for life: the rocks of Mars, the oceans of icy moons, planets around other stars, and the meteorites that fall to Earth.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Planetary Geologist: Studies the rocks, volcanoes, craters, and landscapes of other planets and moons. Typical pay $115k.
Astrobiologist: Searches for life beyond Earth and studies how life began here. Typical pay $110k.
Exoplanet Scientist: Finds planets orbiting other stars and studies their air for signs of habitability. Typical pay $130k.
Planetary Atmospheric Scientist: Studies weather and climate on other worlds: Martian dust storms, Jupiter's giant storms, Titan's methane rain. Typical pay $110k.
Planetary Protection Engineer / Officer: Makes sure we don't contaminate other worlds with Earth germs, or bring dangerous alien material back. Typical pay $120k.
Cosmochemist / Meteoriticist: Studies meteorites and space dust to figure out how the solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. Typical pay $110k.
Planetary Radar Scientist: Bounces powerful radar beams off asteroids and planets to map their shapes and surfaces. Typical pay $125k.
SETI Researcher: Listens and looks for signals from intelligent life beyond Earth. Typical pay $115k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Planetary Cartographer: Makes the maps of the Moon, Mars, and other worlds that astronauts and rovers use. Typical pay $76k.
Space Analog Field Researcher: Tests how people and gear would work on Mars or the Moon by living and working at Earth places that mimic them. Typical pay $70k.
Extremophile Microbiologist: Studies microbes that live in boiling acid, Antarctic ice, or deep rock, clues to where life could exist elsewhere. Typical pay $92k.
Planetary Data Archivist: Organizes and preserves all of NASA's planetary mission data so anyone can use it for decades. Typical pay $82k.
Starter: fastest way in
Meteorite Hunter: Searches deserts, ice fields, and fresh fall sites for meteorites to sell to collectors and museums. Typical pay $38k.
Antarctic Field Team Member: Joins research expeditions to Antarctica's ice fields to collect meteorites and samples. Typical pay $45k.
Planetary Science Lab Technician: Runs equipment in labs that simulate other planets or analyze space samples. Typical pay $52k.
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.