Keeping space safe: tracking thousands of satellites and pieces of junk, forecasting solar storms, and defending Earth from asteroids.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Orbital Debris Scientist: Tracks and models the millions of pieces of space junk circling Earth and figures out how to keep orbits usable. Typical pay $130k.
Planetary Defense Scientist: Finds dangerous asteroids and plans how to deflect them before they hit Earth, like NASA's DART mission did. Typical pay $130k.
Reentry Prediction Analyst: Predicts when and where falling satellites and rocket parts will come crashing back through the atmosphere. Typical pay $125k.
Active Debris Removal Engineer: Designs spacecraft that capture dead satellites and old rocket stages and drag them down to burn up. Typical pay $132k.
Space Traffic Coordination Specialist: Works on the new U.S. civil system that warns satellite operators about possible crashes in orbit. Typical pay $120k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Space Situational Awareness Analyst: Watches everything in orbit, tracking satellites, debris, and suspicious maneuvers by other countries. Typical pay $98k.
Conjunction Assessment Analyst: Decides whether two objects in orbit might collide and whether a satellite needs to dodge. Typical pay $100k.
Space Weather Forecaster: Forecasts solar storms that can knock out radios, GPS, satellites, and power grids. Typical pay $97k.
Asteroid Survey Observer: Runs telescopes that scan the night sky to discover new asteroids and comets heading near Earth. Typical pay $72k.
Space Sustainability Analyst: Researches and promotes rules and ratings that keep space clean and safe for future generations. Typical pay $85k.
Space Surveillance Radar Operator: Runs the huge radars that track satellites and debris, often for the Space Force. Typical pay $65k.
Starter: fastest way in
Optical Satellite Tracking Operator: Operates networks of telescopes that photograph satellites and debris to track their orbits. Typical pay $54k.
Space Weather Instrument Technician: Maintains ground sensors that measure Earth's magnetic field and upper atmosphere for space weather monitoring. Typical pay $52k.
Meteor & Fireball Network Analyst: Runs camera networks that watch for fireballs (bright meteors) and calculates where meteorites landed. 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.