You are on page 1of 4

The following essay will be on the topic of aerospace engineering and the different fields that

are available in aerospace engineering. Some of the main topics that will be discussed in the following
essay include: jobs and duties of an aerospace engineer, work locations, job growth, education and
training required for this job, career ladder, pay and benefits offered by the company employing this
job, 3 major employers in this field, preparations that can be taken in high school to better success the
successor going into this field..
Aerospace engineering is a huge field of engineering, which mostly centers the design and
development of aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, and satellites. It is divided into to major areas of
expertise: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. An aeronautical engineer mostly
works with the design of aircraft, propulsion systems, and the study of aerodynamic performance of
aircraft materials. They work with the theory, technology, and practice the flight within the Earth's
atmosphere. Where as an astronautical engineer works with the science and technology of spacecraft
and how the perform inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere. cited from bls.gov. Some of the
duties included in this job are: double checking if projects are technical and financially feasible,
determining if projects result in a safe aircraft, evaluating designs to make sure products meet the basic
principles of engineering, customer requirements, and any environmental challenges, develop new
technologies for use in aviation, supervise the design and testing of any products. Most of these jobs
are considered high end that's why there are only a few states in the country that offer these aerospace
engineering jobs. Most engineers can often specialize in areas such as aerodynamics, fluid flow,
structural design, guidance navigation, instrumentation, communication, robotics, propulsion, and
combustion. cited from bls.gov. The most common locations for a job in this field are Kansas,
California, Texas, Arizona, New York, Washington DC, and Indiana.
The minimum education requirement for even a slight chance of landing a professional career in
aerospace engineering is a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering or aerospace science. To get a
bachelors degree in aerospace engineering its required to have 16 credits in the following classes: intro

to aerospace engineering systems, aerospace engineering seminar, aerospace engineering lab I,


aerospace engineering lab II, aircraft design, and space systems design. To get a bachelors degree in
aerospace science its required to have at least 29 credits in the following classes: intro to aerospace
engineering, intro to solid mechanics and aerospace structures, intro to gas dynamics, aircraft
structures, spacecraft structures, aerodynamics, aircraft propulsion spacecraft propulsion, space and
flight mechanics, aircraft dynamics and control. It is not required to have any work experience in a
related occupation or have any on the job training upon employment. The employment in this field is
predicted to have a -2% decline in the next 8 years. The jobs available in aerospace engineering are
expected to drop from 75,000 to 70,800 jobs available in the U.S. as of 2024. Of these available jobs
only 12% of them are employed to females. This makes people start to infer the question such as is this
a sexist industry. So based on the above information getting a career in this field takes time and effort.
The average pay for an aerospace engineer is about $107,800 a year or $51 an hour. The overall
pay scale depends on your experience or time on the job. At the entry level the typical aerospace
engineer can get paid anywhere form $70k to $85k, during the mid career an employee can get paid
anywhere from $85k to $102k, and an experienced worker in this field can be paid anywhere from
$102k to $130k. cited from payscale.com. Along with the pay these engineers also get health
insurance covering medical, dental, and vision. To make it even better currently employed aerospace
engineers receive discounts for restaurants, travel, spa services, pet care, car repair, technology, arts,
entertainment, and sporting events. Now when the engineer decides to retire they also get benefits such
as one on one financial investment counseling and the employer-paid 401 (a) savings account with
immediate vesting. cited from aerospace.org.
One of the major potential employers in the aerospace engineering field is Aero Controls Inc.
this company specializes in the airline industry, designing, repairing, and reconstructing planes. cited
form aerocontrols.com. This company has two prosperous locations in Auburn, Washington, and
Shelton, Washington. Another one of many major potential employers in this field is Bae Systems this

company specializes in the arms industry, cyber securities, aircraft, spacecraft, and water crafts. cited
from baesystems.com. This company has many U.S. locations such as: Denver, Colorado, Washington
DC, Dallas, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, and New York, New York. And last but not least for a major
aerospace engineer employer is Beal Aerospace Technologies Inc. this company specializes in
spacecraft, commercialization, and space exploration. cited from bealaerospace.com. This company
only has one location of work and it is in Frisco, Texas.
There are many things a potential aerospace engineer can start doing to prepare for his or her
future in this field. First they can start being organized it is a skill needed for any job in any field so
they might as well start then. Another thing they can do is participate in any clubs or activities
involving aerospace engineering or aerospace science. The last thing that is going to be pointed out to
help this potential engineer is to take a good engineering class if the school offers a course in the field.
This is considered a high end job including pay, health insurance, and overall benefits from the
business, making it more and more of a desired job lessening the chances of more jobs becoming
available. Though all chances of more jobs becoming available are just as good as less jobs becoming
available, people tend to focus on the negatives in life. In conclusion it takes time and effort to become
an aerospace engineer, this field is slowly decimating parts at a time making it harder to get a career in
aerospace engineering.

Total word count: 1008

Work Cited
"Aero Controls Inc. : : Welcome." Aero Controls Inc. : : Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2016.
"Aerospace Engineer Salary (United States) United States Home Change Country Don't See What You
Are Looking For?Get A Free Custom Salary Report ." Aerospace Engineer Salary. N.p., n.d. Web. 24
Aug. 2016.
"Aerospace Engineers." MyFuture.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.
"BAE Systems." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2016.
"Beal Aerospace." Beal Aerospace. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2016.
"Life at Aerospace." The Aerospace Corporation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.
Nar, Harry Raymond. Vector Mechanics for Engineers. N.p.: Wiley, 1962. Print.
"Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.
"U-M Engineering." Degree Requirements. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2016.

You might also like