---
title: "Cool Jobs"
description: "Careers whose main subject is something people find exciting: space and flight, film, music and games, sport, the ocean, wildlife and adventure. The…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/cool-jobs"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Cool Jobs

Careers whose main subject is something people find exciting: space and flight, film, music and games, sport, the ocean, wildlife and adventure. The strangest jobs have their own list. Ranked by national median pay (BLS OEWS). Every career listed is a real job people hold and hire for in the United States.

48 occupations, in the ranked order the career bank computed. Wages are BLS OEWS, May 2025. Growth figures are BLS Employment Projections and education is the BLS "typical education needed for entry".

| # | Occupation | Median annual wage | Projected growth | Typical education |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Airline Pilot](https://nuecareer.com/careers/airline-pilot) | $232,140 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 2 | [Widebody Airline Captain](https://nuecareer.com/careers/widebody-airline-captain) | $232,140 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 3 | [Air Traffic Controller](https://nuecareer.com/careers/air-traffic-controller) | $148,080 | +1.7% | Associate's |
| 4 | [Aerospace Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineer) | $134,960 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 5 | [Flight Test Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/flight-test-engineer) | $134,960 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 6 | [Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/guidance-navigation-and-control-engineer) | $134,960 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 7 | [Launch Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/launch-engineer) | $134,960 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 8 | [Rocket Propulsion Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rocket-propulsion-engineer) | $134,960 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 9 | [Spacecraft Systems Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/spacecraft-systems-engineer) | $134,960 | +8.3% | Bachelor's |
| 10 | [Media Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/media-director) | $133,660 | -3.7% | Bachelor's |
| 11 | [Astronomer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/astronomer) | $128,820 | +7.8% | Doctorate |
| 12 | [Commercial Pilot](https://nuecareer.com/careers/commercial-pilot) | $123,220 | +5.2% | Certificate |
| 13 | [Corporate Pilot](https://nuecareer.com/careers/corporate-pilot) | $123,220 | +5.2% | Certificate |
| 14 | [Production Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/production-designer) | $114,850 | +4.2% | Bachelor's |
| 15 | [Marine Engineer and Naval Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marine-engineer-and-naval-architect) | $112,230 | +6.7% | Bachelor's |
| 16 | [Ocean Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ocean-engineer) | $112,230 | +6.7% | Bachelor's |
| 17 | [Ship Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/ship-engineer) | $109,530 | +2.7% | Certificate |
| 18 | [Private Club General Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/private-club-general-manager) | $105,770 | +5.0% | Bachelor's |
| 19 | [College Athletic Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/college-athletic-director) | $104,590 | +1.8% | Master's |
| 20 | [Acoustical Consultant](https://nuecareer.com/careers/acoustical-consultant) | $104,110 | +11.2% | Bachelor's |
| 21 | [Game Systems Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/game-systems-designer) | $104,000 | +6.0% | Bachelor's |
| 22 | [Level Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/level-designer) | $104,000 | +6.0% | Bachelor's |
| 23 | [Video Game Designer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/video-game-designer) | $104,000 | +6.0% | Bachelor's |
| 24 | [Game Producer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/game-producer) | $102,320 | +6.7% | Bachelor's |
| 25 | [Character Artist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/character-artist) | $102,030 | -0.3% | Bachelor's |
| 26 | [Cinematic Artist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cinematic-artist) | $102,030 | -0.3% | Bachelor's |
| 27 | [VFX Compositor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/vfx-compositor) | $102,030 | -0.3% | Bachelor's |
| 28 | [Oceanographer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/oceanographer) | $101,920 | +5.1% | Bachelor's |
| 29 | [Coastal Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/coastal-engineer) | $100,840 | +6.4% | Bachelor's |
| 30 | [Aviation Meteorologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aviation-meteorologist) | $99,070 | +2.6% | Bachelor's |
| 31 | [Captain, Mate, and Pilot of Water Vessels](https://nuecareer.com/careers/captain-mate-and-pilot-of-water-vessels) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 32 | [Yacht Captain](https://nuecareer.com/careers/yacht-captain) | $92,460 | +4.0% | Certificate |
| 33 | [Aviation Inspector](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aviation-inspector) | $92,100 | +2.2% | High school |
| 34 | [Aviation Safety Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aviation-safety-manager) | $92,100 | +2.2% | Bachelor's |
| 35 | [First Assistant Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-assistant-director) | $90,360 | +4.0% | Bachelor's |
| 36 | [Line Producer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/line-producer) | $90,360 | +4.0% | Bachelor's |
| 37 | [Location Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/location-manager) | $90,360 | +4.0% | Bachelor's |
| 38 | [Media Programming Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/media-programming-director) | $90,360 | +4.0% | Bachelor's |
| 39 | [Media Technical Directors/Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/media-technical-directors-manager) | $90,360 | +4.0% | Bachelor's |
| 40 | [Producer and Director](https://nuecareer.com/careers/producer-and-director) | $90,360 | +4.0% | Bachelor's |
| 41 | [Showrunner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/showrunner) | $90,360 | +4.0% | Bachelor's |
| 42 | [Sports Data Analyst](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sports-data-analyst) | $88,940 | +11.9% | Bachelor's |
| 43 | [A&R Representative](https://nuecareer.com/careers/a-and-r-representative) | $82,890 | +9.7% | Bachelor's |
| 44 | [Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineering-and-operations-technologist-and-technician) | $82,890 | +11.9% | Associate's |
| 45 | [Agent and Business Manager of Artists, Performers, and Athletes](https://nuecareer.com/careers/agent-and-business-manager-of-artists-performers-and-athletes) | $82,890 | +9.7% | Bachelor's |
| 46 | [Sports Agent](https://nuecareer.com/careers/sports-agent) | $82,890 | +9.7% | Bachelor's |
| 47 | [Avionics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/avionics-technician) | $82,280 | +9.4% | Certificate |
| 48 | [Aircraft Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aircraft-mechanic) | $79,870 | +5.4% | Certificate |

Full record for any row, including wage percentiles and state-level pay: https://nuecareer.com/careers/{slug} or https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/{slug}.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/collections/cool-jobs