Career in Aerospace Engineering

Typical Jobs
Product managers, systems engineer, managing engineer, quality engineer.

Typical Work
Aerospace engineers work in the field of air and space travel. They are responsible for the construction, installation, maintenance, testing, and monitoring of equipment that is used to launch and monitor airplanes, helicopters and spaceships. Aerospace engineers are very specialized and work in multi-million dollar industries. Typically aerospace engineers work for aerospace companies in the fields of testing, production and monitoring. These companies provide these services to airlines, private jet companies, government and other parties. Aerospace engineers can also work for their respective governments such as NASA in the U.S.

Education Required
To become an aerospace engineer requires a technical degree in engineering. You must obtain at a minimum a bachelor's degree in Aerospace engineering or an equivalent in mechanical or electrical engineering. You can also obtain a diploma from a community college or technical school but your job opportunities will be limited. Pursuing secondary education into the graduate or masters level will also help you obtain an affluent position. Many universities offer very specific degrees in the field of aerospace engineering, but many engineers start out as either electrical or mechanical engineers as you will use both fields in your career. A degree in engineering will usually last for 4-5 years depending on the program.

Some of the top Aerospace Engineering Schools
MIT
Stanford University
California Institute of Technology
Imperial College London
University of Tokyo
Ecole Polytechnique Montreal

Skills and Interests Needed
As an aerospace engineer you will need to be interested in applied sciences such as physics and math. Also you should be interested in mechanics, electrical systems, computers and design. You will need both analytical and creative skills. Often aerospace engineers will need interpersonal skills because they will be working on large teams. You will need strong problem solving skills to deal with the large numbers of problems that can develop while working in the aerospace industry.

Associations and Organizations
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) - http://www.aiaa.org/
National Aeronautics and Space Association- http://www.nasa.gov/

Other engineering career choices

Other career choices