heart towards sea: The Feasibility of an Aerospace Engineering Career[zt]

The Feasibility of an Aerospace Engineering Career

by
Derek Bridges
June 18, 1998

Abstract

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.

Introduction

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:

Is aerospace engineering the best career for me?
Am I preparing correctly to enter the field?
What other steps should I take before entering the field?
What steps should I take to remain current after entering the field?

Discussion of Findings

Position Description

Roles of an Aerospace Engineer

Aerospace engineers work in an extremely diverse field, and as such, they play a large number of different roles:

Research – Working in a government, university, or company
laboratory, engineers investigate problems in specific areas, such as
aerodynamics, propulsion, or computer modeling.
Design – Operating mainly in a corporate setting, teams of
design engineers develop new aircraft, spacecraft, and engines. Some
teams also revise existing designs to improve speed or fuel efficiency.
Testing – Using equipment including wind tunnels, flight
simulators, and strain gauges, testing engineers work with research or
design teams to examine characteristics of vehicles, either in flight
or mounted on a test stand.
Product Support – Coordinating efforts with customers, support engineers provide for maintenance, safety, and efficiency upgrades.
Teaching – Acting as a visiting scholar or a member of the
faculty, many aerospace engineers share their knowledge and experience
with university students.
Management – Leading design or research teams, senior
engineers with management training supervise budget, personnel, and
other business matters.

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).

Requirements

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).

On-the-Job Reality

Employment Outlook and Advancement Opportunities

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).

Advantages and Disadvantages

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).

Self-Assessment of Skills

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.

Conclusion

Summary of Findings

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.

Interpretation of Findings

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.