Career: Aerospace Engineers
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
In 1903, the Wright brothers’ first plane flew for twelve seconds and went only 120 feet. Today, aerospace engineers are working on supersonic ramjets. These scramjets, as they’re called, will take you from New York to Tokyo in only two hours. That’s a lot of progress for one century.
As an aerospace engineer, you could build satellites or defense systems. You could make airplanes faster and safer. You could design a spacecraft, a space station, or an explorer robot like the Mars-roving Spirit. If looking up at the sky starts you thinking about how to get there, you could be one of tomorrow’s aerospace engineers.
Aerospace engineers design all kinds of manned and unmanned aircraft and spacecraft, from small airplanes to satellites. They test and build new designs and work to improve existing machines.
Did You Know?
- Aerospace engineers who work on spacecraft are known as astronautical engineers.
Are You Ready To...?
- Make sure your work is always precise and accurate
- Keep learning about new technologies and equipment
- Write and speak about your work to supervisors and coworkers
- Work as part of a team
It Helps to Be...
A math and science fan who can think ahead and solve problems creatively. You’ll need to be able to explain your ideas to others, so start building good writing and speaking skills now.
Make High School Count
- Go for challenging math and science classes, including calculus, physics, and chemistry.
- Take English classes seriously. You’ll need to be able to write clearly about your ideas.
- Get together with other students who have the same interests by joining or starting a rocket club. Check out the National Association of Rocketry.
- Consider taking computer science and computer-aided design (CAD) classes to get a jump start on skills you’ll use in college and on the job.
- Sign up for an auto shop class to get experience working with machines.
Did You Know?
- Engineers deliberately design fighter planes to be unstable -- so they can change direction quickly.
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for aerospace engineers to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2016. New technology and new military projects should increase demand.
Compensation
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the average yearly earnings of aerospace engineers in 2008 as $93,980.
