- What does an aerospace engineer do in a typical day on the job?
- question from name withheld
Aerospace engineers may end up in a wide variety of different kinds of jobs, so it is a little
tricky to describe "an average day in the life of...." Even so, it is safe to say that most of us
work in an office environment where we sit at our desks much of the day performing our jobs. In
addition, we all use computers in one way or another. A typical engineer will usually be working
on tasks such as the following:
- creating a computer model of a vehicle or portion of a vehicle
- analyzing a computer model to determine its aerodynamic, structural, or thermal
performance, or perhaps studying how well a component of the design integrates with
another component or how easy it will be to assemble or maintain
- testing a design using a computer simulation, a wind tunnel, or flight test to see
how well it performs its intended purpose
- designing software that controls how a vehicle flies or simulates its flight
characteristics
- performing trade studies to optimize a design and make it work better
- attending meetings with engineers or managers to discuss progress reports, problems,
or future plans
- writing reports or making presentations on the status of your work
- drinking coffee and catching up on your email :-)
This is a pretty limited set of tasks an aerospace engineer might do, but I think you'll find in
any engineering career that most people are doing completely different things from each other.
- How much time is spent daily working on projects as an Aerospace Engineer? And just to be more
specific, vehicle design?
- question from Marty
For most engineers, I'd say about 80% to 90% of the average work day is spent completing technical
projects, which could include various design and analysis tasks like those discussed above. The
remaining 10% to 20% I'd chalk up to meetings, writing reports, or other administrative and
managerial tasks.
However, not all of us are engaged in what you might be thinking of as "vehicle design." When I
hear that term, I think of conducting conceptual design studies to figure out how big a vehicle
needs to be, how its internal and external components should be arranged, what kinds of
technologies should go into its construction, and so on. Only a few aerospace engineers actually
work on these kinds of tasks, and the amount of time they spend doing so could vary greatly
depending on where they work and what their position is.
Another aspect of vehicle design is the more detailed work of figuring out how to build the
conceptual design. This effort includes tasks such as determining where all the beams and
bulkheads should go to bear the loads acting on the vehicle in flight, figuring out how all the
parts of the fuel system interconnect to get fuel from the tanks to the engines, creating the
flight control systems and computers, figuring out how the pieces will be built and assembled,
etc. Many, many more engineers work on these kinds of detailed nuts-and-bolts design issues that
take the concept and turn it into an actual design that can be manufactured.
- Do you get short assignments, or assignments that drag on for long time? Does your job mainly deal
with people, data, or things?
- question from Norma Flores
Both long-term and short-term projects. The long-term projects are usually better because they are
more stable, have more money, and are better defined in terms of what kind of product they want in
the end. The short-term projects don't usually have enough time or money to do a really thorough
job, but they do provide some variety and the chance to work on something new and different.
Probably data, since I work a lot on computers generating numbers. I also have to interact with
people at government and industry sites quite a bit to get access to information I need to do my
work. I take "things" to mean actual aircraft or other vehicles, and I don't spend that much time
around those.
- What are the responsiblities (ie: health and safety issues, legal, and ethical implications) of an
aeronautical engineer?
- question from Eric
I can't think of any such responsibilities particular to aeronautical or aerospace engineering that
aren't true of all other branches of engineering. All engineers have certain legal and moral
obligations to consider the safety and health impacts of their designs, and they can be held
accountable if something goes wrong. Other general responsibilities engineers and scientists have
are to report their findings truthfully and accurately and to make sure that decisions are properly
documented and defensible. One major area of responsibility that has become of greater importance
in recent years is to consider the long-term environmental impacts of an engineer's design. These
could include toxic by-products of the manufacturing process, exposing the end-user to dangerous
substances, and any health or safety issues associated with disposing of the product at the end of
its useful life.
- What bonuses does this profession provide, such as medical and dental insurance, vacation, and
holidays? What is your company's policy on being late and how to dress?
- question from name withheld
Again, specifics may vary greatly depending on your specific job and employer, but I think the
benefits are pretty similar for most places whether they are in the aerospace industry or not. You
typically get a choice of medical and dental plans in which you and the employer both pay a roughly
equal share of the expenses. The more services you want, the more expensive your monthly premium
will be. Vacation time is also pretty standard at about 2 weeks paid leave a year, and most or all
major holidays are usually paid days off. There really isn't any policy on being late where any
of us work. We're pretty free to set our own hours so long as our work gets done and we are
available when people need to talk to us. The dress code is also pretty open. Most engineers
I know wear jeans and a polo shirt or maybe dress pants and a dress shirt when something important
is going on.
- Is aeronautical engineering a good profession to enter right now with a slowed economy and hurting
airlines? Is a masters degree necessary to be successful?
- question from Greg B.
Whenever someone asks this question, I think back to what the industry was like back when I was
getting ready to start college. It was shortly after the end of the Cold War when the military
slashed its budgets, many defense projects were cancelled, commercial airliner sales had plummeted,
companies were leaving the aerospace industry in droves, and the economy was "the worst in 50
years," according to a certain political candidate known for hyperbole. Everyone was warning me to
stay out of aerospace, it was a dying industry. I stuck with it anyway, and by the time I
graduated college, quite the opposite was true. The resurgent defense industry was hiring like mad
to replace all the people who had retired or been laid off during the poor economy of the early
90s, airlines were making money hand over fist and placing enormous orders for new aircraft, and
even the automotive and racing industries had a big demand for aerospace engineers. The moral of
this story is that aerospace is a very cyclical industry, and it's probably better to start your
schooling when it's in a depressed state because it will likely be nearing the peak of demand again
once you graduate. In fact, the demand for aerospace engineers has been pretty stable during the
economic slowdown of 1999-2002. The primary reasons for this are increased defense spending in
general, the awarding of the Joint Strike Fighter contract, and increased demand from the auto
racing industry.
As for a masters degree, it depends primarily on the employer. Some only want new hires with BS
degrees because they want to train you to do things their way. Others only want candidates with MS
degrees because they require someone with more specialized experience. On balance, I'd say that
your prospects probably are a little better with a masters, but it is by no means "necessary to
be successful."
- Will I be able to work for Pakistan International Airlines after getting a degree in aerospace
engineering? Will I be eligible for a job in the US after getting a degree in aerospace
engineering from a school in Pakistan?
- question from Asad Ali
In general, airlines do not hire aerospace engineers, or at least not many of them. Aerospace
engineers are designers, so the companies that hire them are usually designing and building
aircraft. Airlines are operators of the planes and do not typically need the kinds of skills
aerospace engineers have to offer.
What I've said is true for American airline companies at least, but that may not be true of
airlines in other nations. I tried visiting PIA to find any information on their employees or job openings, but I couldn't
locate anything. One possibility is to contact the airline's headquarters and ask about their need
for aerospace engineers or other career fields that might interest you.
As for a job in the US, most employers require a degree from an accredited school. As discussed
previously, accredidation means that the school's aerospace engineering
program has met certain requirements. US schools are accredited by a group called ABET, but I do
not know how foreign universities are certified. It might be a good idea to contact the unveristy
you plan to attend and ask about that. In addition, most US employers require American citizenship
or permanent resident status before most they will consider hiring a foreign national.
- What advice will you give to a high school student who wants to be an engineer?
- question from Rick
It's difficult to think up a good answer to such a broad question, but I guess the best advice I
can think of is to remember that there's a light at the end of the tunnel! The classes an engineer
has to take in college are far more difficult and time-consuming than some other majors, but if you
stick it out, a very exciting and well-paying career is waiting for you.
