Aerospace Engineers

• Nature of the Work

  Aerospace engineers design, develop, test, and help manufacture commercial and military aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. They develop new technologies for use in commercial aviation, defense systems, and space exploration, often specializing in areas like structural design, guidance, navigation and control, instrumentation and communication, or production methods. They also may specialize in a particular type of aerospace product, such as commercial transports, helicopters, spacecraft, or rockets. Aerospace engineers may be experts in aerodynamics, propulsion, thermodynamics, structures, celestial mechanics, acoustics, or guidance and control systems.

• Working Conditions for Engineers

• Employment

  Aerospace engineers held about 56,000 jobs in 1994. About half were in the aircraft and parts and guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing industries. Federal Government agencies, primarily the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, provided more than 1 out of 7 jobs. Business services, engineering and architectural services, research and testing services, and electrical and electronics manufacturing firms accounted for most of the remainder.

  California, Washington, Texas, and Florida-States with large aerospace manufacturers-have the most aerospace engineers.

• Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement for Engineers

• Job Outlook

  Those seeking employment as aerospace engineers are likely to face keen competition because the number of job opportunities is expected to be significantly fewer than the relatively large pool of graduates. Defense Department expenditures for military aircraft, missiles, and other aerospace systems are declining, although funding for research and development of new systems has remained stable. Growth in the civilian sector, which needs to replace the present fleet of airliners with quieter and more fuel-efficient aircraft, is projected to be slow due to smaller orders from airlines and increasing foreign competition. This has caused a restructuring of firms and layoffs of personnel within both defense and civilian aircraft manufacturing that is expected to continue through the mid-1990s. Consequently, employment of aerospace engineers is change or grow more slowly than the average through the year 2005. Future growth of employment in this field could also be limited because a higher proportion of engineers in aerospace manufacturing may come from the materials, mechanical, or electrical engineering fields. Most job openings will result from the need to replace aerospace engineers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.

  (See introductory section of this chapter for information on training requirements, earnings, and sources of additional information.)

• Earnings of Engineers

• Related Occupations for Engineers

  Engineers apply the principles of physical science and mathematics in their work. Other workers who use scientific and mathematical principles include physical scientists, life scientists, computer scientists, mathematicians, engineering and science technicians, and architects.

• Sources of Additional Information about Engineers

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