What You Need to Know About Aerospace Engineer
Occupation Description Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques.
Life As an Aerospace Engineer: What Do They Do?
- Plan or coordinate activities concerned with investigating and resolving customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
- Evaluate and approve selection of vendors by studying past performance or new advertisements.
- Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
- Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
- Develop design criteria for aeronautical or aerospace products or systems, including testing methods, production costs, quality standards, environmental standards, or completion dates.
- Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
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What an Aerospace Engineer Should Know
Aerospace Engineers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Science: Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Related Job Titles
- Helicopter Engineer
- Aircraft Instrument Engineer
- Automation Engineer
- Aerospace Engineer
- Aeronautical Engineer
Aerospace Engineer Job Outlook
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 69,600 jobs in the United States for Aerospace Engineer. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 6% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 4,200 new jobs for Aerospace Engineer by 2026. There will be an estimated 4,600 positions for Aerospace Engineer per year.

The states with the most job growth for Aerospace Engineer are Wisconsin, Utah, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Washington, West Virginia, or Kansas. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Aerospace Engineer Average Salary
The salary for Aerospace Engineers ranges between about $71,640 and $164,210 a year.

Aerospace Engineers who work in District of Columbia, Hawaii, or Virginia, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Aerospace Engineers in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $115,820 |
Alaska | $112,890 |
Arizona | $107,230 |
California | $125,540 |
Colorado | $124,070 |
Connecticut | $106,790 |
District of Columbia | $138,480 |
Florida | $105,460 |
Georgia | $114,160 |
Hawaii | $121,100 |
Illinois | $108,520 |
Indiana | $95,390 |
Iowa | $110,770 |
Kansas | $105,540 |
Kentucky | $98,650 |
Louisiana | $117,170 |
Maryland | $127,330 |
Massachusetts | $119,700 |
Minnesota | $113,350 |
Mississippi | $110,760 |
Missouri | $114,570 |
Montana | $91,940 |
Nebraska | $115,120 |
Nevada | $91,850 |
New Jersey | $115,850 |
New Mexico | $114,340 |
New York | $115,420 |
North Carolina | $100,080 |
Ohio | $112,480 |
Oklahoma | $92,460 |
Oregon | $109,250 |
Pennsylvania | $108,300 |
Tennessee | $88,180 |
Texas | $122,570 |
Utah | $105,320 |
Virginia | $127,390 |
West Virginia | $90,710 |
Wisconsin | $85,880 |
What Tools & Technology do Aerospace Engineers Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Aerospace Engineers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Python
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Windows
- Microsoft Project
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Microsoft Visio
- The MathWorks MATLAB
- Linux
- Microsoft Visual Basic
- Extensible markup language XML
- UNIX
- National Instruments LabVIEW
- C
- Dassault Systemes CATIA
- Practical extraction and reporting language Perl
How do I Become an Aerospace Engineer?
Are there Aerospace Engineers education requirements?

How Long Does it Take to Become an Aerospace Engineer?

Who Employs Aerospace Engineers?

Below are examples of industries where Aerospace Engineers work:

Related Careers
Those interested in being an Aerospace Engineer may also be interested in:
References:
Image Credit: Michel Villeneuve via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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