The thousands of satellites that bring internet, GPS, TV, weather data, and Earth pictures, plus the people and ground stations that run them.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Satellite Communications (RF) Engineer: Designs the radio links that carry internet, TV, phone calls, and data between satellites and Earth. Typical pay $127k.
Antenna Engineer: Designs antennas, from huge ground dishes to flat electronic arrays that steer beams without moving. Typical pay $135k.
Satellite Payload Engineer: Builds the 'business end' of a satellite: the camera, radio, or science instrument that does its actual job. Typical pay $132k.
Laser (Optical) Communications Engineer: Builds laser systems that let satellites send data to each other and to Earth using beams of light instead of radio. Typical pay $140k.
Satellite Constellation Design Engineer: Decides how many satellites to launch, in which orbits, so that thousands of them cover the planet without crashing. Typical pay $140k.
Ground Segment Engineer: Designs the antennas, computers, and networks on Earth that control satellites and receive their data. Typical pay $118k.
Spectrum Manager: Wins and protects the right to use specific radio frequencies, which are invisible but hugely valuable real estate. Typical pay $125k.
GPS / GNSS Engineer: Designs the GPS systems and receivers that tell phones, planes and tractors exactly where they are. Typical pay $135k.
Earth Observation Product Manager: Turns satellite data into products that farmers, insurers and governments will pay for. Typical pay $150k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
CubeSat / Small Satellite Engineer: Builds tiny satellites, some the size of a shoebox, often on fast timelines at startups or universities. Typical pay $100k.
Satellite Imagery Analyst: Studies pictures and data from satellites to track crops, wildfires, ships, cities, and military activity. Typical pay $80k.
Satellite Operator / Controller: Sits in an operations center sending commands to satellites and watching their health around the clock. Typical pay $82k.
Ground Station Technician: Maintains the big satellite dishes and electronics that talk to spacecraft. Typical pay $68k.
RF Test Technician: Tests radio and microwave components before they go onto satellites. Typical pay $70k.
Hyperspectral Imagery Analyst: Uses satellite cameras that see hundreds of colors to spot crop disease, methane leaks and minerals. Typical pay $92k.
Satellite Ship-Tracking Analyst: Uses satellite radio signals, radar and images to track ships at sea and catch illegal fishing, smuggling and sanctions-dodging. Typical pay $85k.
Satellite Interference Analyst: Hunts down whatever is jamming or blocking satellite signals, from a badly aimed dish to deliberate jamming. Typical pay $85k.
Starter: fastest way in
Satellite Uplink Operator: Beams live TV and events up to satellites from trucks and teleports. Typical pay $52k.
Satellite Internet Installer: Installs satellite internet and TV dishes on homes, ships, RVs, and businesses. Typical pay $46k.
Satellite Network Support Specialist: Monitors satellite networks and helps customers and technicians fix connection problems. Typical pay $54k.
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.