by
Derek Bridges
June 18, 1998
Aerospace engineering is an exciting, demanding, and dynamic career. Dealing with everything from aircraft and spacecraft to cars and ships, aerospace engineers perform a variety of tasks, including research, design, testing, maintenance, teaching, and management.
Requirements for aerospace engineering fall into three categories: education, professional organizations, and skills. While most engineers complete graduate and post-graduate study, only a bachelor's degree is essential. Membership in professional organizations, relating directly and indirectly to the aerospace industry, is necessary to stay current in such a fast-changing field. In addition, engineers must be skilled in three main areas: science, communication, and teamwork.
Currently, the employment outlook and chances for advancement in the field are favorable, although engineers may be required to relocate, work long hours, and travel often. Another downside is the aerospace industry's 15-year employment cycle, but these fluctuations are usually offset by fringe benefits.
My interests, experience, and skills closely follow those needed for aerospace engineering, leading me to conclude that I would be well suited for a career in the industry. However, I can improve my prospects by continuing my education and improving my network of contacts in professional organizations.
Recent cutbacks in military and space programs have limited the number of available engineering jobs, especially in the aerospace industry. However, current projections forecast growth in the civil aviation and space sectors, increasing the need for aerospace engineers. Because the past job market had discouraged many engineering students from aerospace, qualified graduates will find the industry wanting for workers, both to replace outgoing engineers and to fill the need created by the new growth (Braddock, "Aerospace Engineers").
As a college student interested in aerospace engineering, I consulted professionals and relevant literature to learn about the following areas: roles of aerospace engineers, educational and professional requirements, skill requirements, employment outlook, opportunities for advancement, and career advantages and disadvantages. By comparing these areas with my own education and experience, I am able to determine the answers to these questions:
Aerospace engineers work in an extremely diverse field, and as such, they play a large number of different roles:
Aside from performing a variety of tasks, aerospace engineers work on a wide variety of different projects. Most often, projects fall completely in the aerospace field: aircraft, spacecraft, and satellites (Braddock, "Aerospace Engineers"). However, aerospace engineers also crossover to participate in other fields; they work with astronomers, physicists, mechanical engineers, and marine engineers to help design and build research equipment, automobiles, and ships (Melton; Undergraduate 41).
Education. Aerospace engineering is a highly technical field, requiring a bachelor's degree for entry-level positions. For more advanced positions, a graduate degree and post-graduate work is often necessary. Many aerospace engineers also obtain bachelor's or higher degrees in other related fields, such as mathematics, physics, computer science, or materials science. Managing engineers are required to have business and management training, preferably a master's in business administration (Melton).
Professional Associations. Because the aerospace field is dynamic, engineers must belong to at least one professional organization in order to keep up with current trends. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, or AIAA, has the broadest membership base, dealing with both aviation and space. Other smaller groups include the American Helicopter Society, for engineers specializing in vertical flight, and the American Astronautical Society, intended for spacecraft designers and space scientists (Melton).
Many aerospace engineers also join societies that indirectly relate to their area of expertise. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers allow for networking with other engineers and material scientists, while the American Physical Society and American Chemical Society provide a link to physicists and chemists (Braddock, "Engineers").
Skills. To succeed in the aerospace industry, engineers need to be extremely skilled in three main areas: science, including math and computer science; written, spoken, and graphical technical communication; and teamwork.
All aerospace engineers use science and math in their careers. Most important are physics and its related disciplines: engineering mechanics, thermodynamics, and aerodynamics. Math, including differential equations and statistics, is also essential, as it is an integral part of the other scientific fields. Other significant sciences include chemistry, for those engineers working with advanced ceramics and composite materials, and computer science, needed to build computer models and simulations, mainly using the Fortran and C++ computer languages (Melton).
Aerospace engineering requires accurate and precise technical communication. Writing skills are necessary in composing specifications, research proposals, and technical reports, while speaking and presentation experience becomes essential, both for formal meetings and conferences and informal discussions (Melton). As with any other engineering profession, interpreting graphical information, such as graphs, charts, and production drawings, is vital to understand how parts fit together or what a certain data set represents (Undergraduate 40).
Since no aerospace engineer works alone, teamwork skills are absolutely fundamental. While working in a team, an engineer must be receptive to each member, considering each person's thoughts and ideas and judging them based on their own merits. Special consideration must be given when dealing with international issues, taking care to respect each group's customs and culture (Melton).
Despite recent cutbacks in military budgets and a number of mergers between large aerospace corporations, the demand for aerospace engineers continues to grow, although more slowly than the average. Most growth will occur in the space and civil aviation sectors, although all areas will have openings to replace engineers who move to other positions or retire.
While aerospace companies have facilities all over the nation, most job opportunities are concentrated in the South and West, especially California, Washington, Texas, and Florida. Outside of the United States, there are also a large number of aerospace firms; however, only Europe's Airbus is as large as the American corporations ("Aerospace Jobs on the Rise").
Once in the aerospace industry, engineers have great potential for advancement when compared with other engineering specialties (as shown in Figure 1). After gaining experience as a member of a research or design team, an engineer may be promoted to a larger, more complex project. Following that, further promotions may bring a supervisory post, or following further training, which is often funded by the company, a management assignment.
Advancement could also continue outside of the company structure. For example, an, engineer may start with an aerospace firm after graduation, work with them for a period of time, transfer to a government job with NASA, join a university as a professor or researcher, and retire as a consultant (Undergraduate 37-38).
Like every occupation, aerospace engineering has its advantages and disadvantages. As illustrated in Figure 1, the starting salary for aerospace engineers is comparable to that of other engineering fields, while the median salary rises above that of the other fields. In addition to the salary, companies also provide fringe benefits, such as stock options, health and dental benefits, and reimbursement for continuing education (Anderson 9).
Balancing these advantages are the more challenging and stressful work required of an aerospace engineer, as well as the large 15-year fluctuations in the job market. For some engineers, a great deal of travel is essential, especially for those participating in conferences or conducting flight testing (Melton).
To be successful in an aerospace engineering career, I must have the skills mentioned above: science, communication, and teamwork.
I have had a great deal of experience in science and math. In high school and college, I have earned excellent grades in physics, chemistry, and calculus. During the next few years, I will be taking classes in engineering mechanics, thermodynamics, and aerodynamics.
As for communication, two years experience with technical writing and three years training in graphical communication, including computer-aided drafting, will provide a solid basis once I enter the aerospace industry.
Operating as part of a team is nothing new to me. In my Engineering Design and Graphics class, I worked with three other students of varying abilities and motivation to design and build a working scale within a limited time period. After sharing ideas, we reached a workable compromise, resulting in a finished product that operated with only 2% error.
Aerospace engineers deal mainly with aircraft and space vehicles, working in every level of design and production. In addition to memberships in professional organizations, aerospace engineers must have at least a bachelor's degree and should be skilled in science, math, communication, and working as part of a team. Once in the industry, there are numerous chances for advancement, although they may require relocation, long work hours, and extensive travel. Taking these factors into account, a career in aerospace engineering would suit my interests, abilities, and experience well.
After comparing all aspects of aerospace engineering – duties, requirements, and working conditions – with my personal attributes, including temperament, abilities, and work habits, I have determined that I would be well-suited to a career in the aerospace industry. From my literature research and my interview with Dr. Melton, I learned that graduate school would be the best option to follow after graduation, so that I can improve my chances for advancement after entering the workforce. Expanding my education to overlap with another engineering discipline would add to my aerospace skills, and should allow me to move between fields, which may be necessary in a dynamic job market.
In order to plan for aerospace engineering career, I should consider the following advice:
Web Formatting - Copyright 2006 Derek Bridges
Last Updated: September 17, 2006
Back to Academic Papers