Aerospace Engineering
B1 Science
Aerospace engineers are very smart people. They have to have at least a bachelor’s degree. They make extraordinary machines, such as airplanes weighing over a half a million pounds and spaceships that can travel up to or higher than 17,000 miles per hour. They make plans, carry out, and test airplanes, helicopters, spaceships, and missiles. They also have to monitor the manufacturing of these objects. The ones that work on aircraft are called aeronautical engineers. The ones that work on spacecraft are called astronautical engineers. They make new products for the use in defense systems, aviation, and space exploration. They use computer-aided design or CAD software, lasers, and robotics. They also use electronic optics. They may become experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, or guidance and control systems. Aerospace engineers have creative, scientific, mathematical and inventive minds. They must have patience, motivation, determination, and perseverance. They have to be excellent problem solvers. They must be good communicators because and aircraft requires a number of people banding together to get the final product in perfect condition. They also should be able to see things in three dimensions. They must have to work well on computers. They work indoors in offices and laboratories. They can also work at a field site. Most of the aerospace engineers work regular hours, but they may be required to work longer if they have a project deadline. Aerospace engineers are usually employed in the aerospace product and parts industry, even if their skills are becoming very valuable in other fields. In the motor vehicles manufacturing industry, aerospace engineers make vehicles that have low air resistance and increased fuel efficiency. They held almost 78,000 jobs in 2002. Almost all of them worked in the aerospace product and parts manufacturing industries. Federal Government agencies took up 10 percent of those peoples jobs. The rest of the peoples jobs were held in architectural, engineering and related services, scientific research and development services, navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instrument manufacturing industry firms. Median annual earnings of aerospace engineers were $72,750 in 2002. The 10 percent of the highest jobs earned more than $105,060. The 50 percent in the middle earned between $59,520 and $88,310. The 10 percent lowest jobs earned less than $49,640. People with bachelor’s degrees received a starting salary offer of average $48,028 a year. People with master’s degrees got offered an average of $61,162. People with a Ph.D. were offered an average of $68,406. Earnings from the federal government are around