Aerospace Engineers - 17-2011.00

Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques.

Sample of reported job titles: Aeronautical Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Aerospace Stress Engineer, Avionics Engineer, Design Engineer, Flight Controls Engineer, Flight Test Engineer, Structural Analysis Engineer, Systems Engineer, Test Engineer

Tasks

• Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
• Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
• Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
• Plan or coordinate activities concerned with investigating and resolving customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
• Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
• Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
• Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
• Develop design criteria for aeronautical or aerospace products or systems, including testing methods, production costs, quality standards, environmental standards, or completion dates.
• Analyze project requests, proposals, or engineering data to determine feasibility, productibility, cost, or production time of aerospace or aeronautical products.
• Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
• Diagnose performance problems by reviewing performance reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
• Direct aerospace research and development programs.
• Research new materials to determine quality or conformance to environmental standards.
• Design or engineer filtration systems that reduce harmful emissions.
• Evaluate biofuel performance specifications to determine feasibility for aerospace applications.

Technology Skills

• Analytical or scientific software - The MathWorks MATLAB ; Thermal Synthesizer System TSS; Universal Technical Systems TK Solver; Wolfram Research Mathematica (see all 35 examples)
• Computer aided design CAD software - Autodesk AutoCAD ; Dassault Systemes CATIA ; PTC Creo Parametric ; Xilinx TMRTool (see all 8 examples)
• Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
• Configuration management software - IBM Rational ClearCase
• Data base user interface and query software - Microsoft Access
• Development environment software - Ada; Microsoft Visual Basic ; National Instruments LabVIEW ; Verilog (see all 7 examples)
• Enterprise application integration software - Extensible markup language XML
• Graphics or photo imaging software - Image processing systems
• Object or component oriented development software - Microsoft Visual C++; Practical extraction and reporting language Perl ; Python ; Sun Microsystems Java
• Office suite software - Microsoft Office
• Operating system software - Hewlett-Packard HP OpenVMS; Linux ; UNIX
• Presentation software - Microsoft PowerPoint
• Project management software - Microsoft Project ; PTC Pro/INTRALINK
• Requirements analysis and system architecture software - IBM Rational DOORS; IBM Rational Requisite Pro
• Spreadsheet software - Microsoft Excel
• Word processing software - Microsoft Word

Tools Used

• Aerospace cockpit display panels - Electronic flight instrument systems EFIS
• Aircraft engine compressors - Axial flow compressor facilities
• Aircraft flight simulators or trainers - Flight simulators
• Aircraft guidance systems - Flight management systems FMS
• Anechoic chambers
• Compressed air gun - Impact guns
• Desktop computers - UNIX work stations
• Dynamometers - Push/pull dynamometers
• Fatigue testers - Fatigue testing machines
• Flow injection analysis equipment - Impinging jet apparatus
• Flowmeters - Flow meters; Laser Doppler velocimeters LDV; Laser velocimeters
• Force or torque sensors - Force transducers
• Frequency analyzers - Wave analyzers
• High end computer servers - Cluster computers; Parallel computers
• High vacuum combustion apparatus - Propellant combustion chambers
• High vacuum equipment - Vacuum facilities
• Interferometers - Fiber optic interferometers
• Laboratory centrifugal pumps
• Lasers - Argon-ion lasers
• Load frame - Load frames
• Mainframe computers
• Mainframe console or dumb terminals - Terminal computers
• Oscilloscopes - Digital oscilloscopes
• Personal computers
• Plotter printers - Plotters
• Polariscopes - Reflection polariscopes
• Power grinders - Centerless grinders
• Pressure indicators - Digital pressure gauges
• Pressure sensors - Electronic pressure scanners
• Profiling and duplicating milling machine - Multi-axis mills
• Scanning probe microscopes - Atomic force microscopes
• Signal generators - Power microwave generators
• Sound measuring apparatus or decibel meter - Acoustic emissions systems
• Spectrometers
• Spot welding machine - Welders
• Strain gauges - Strain gauge balances
• Surface grinding machine - Surface grinding machines
• Surface testers - Profilometers
• Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe - Lathes
• Traveling column milling machine - Computer numerical controlled CNC milling machines
• Turbine engines - Axial flow turbines
• Ultrasonic examination equipment - Ultrasonic inspection equipment
• Vibration testers - Axial flow research fans; Vibration isolation tables
• Viscosimeters - Viscometers
• Voltage or current meters - Digital voltmeters DVM

Knowledge

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Skills

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
• Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
• Technology Design - Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
• Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
• Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
• Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

Interests

• Interest code: IR
  • Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
  • Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Work Context

• Electronic Mail - 100% responded “Every day.”
• Face-to-Face Discussions - 93% responded “Every day.”
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - 82% responded “Every day.”
• Work With Work Group or Team - 52% responded “Extremely important.”
• Telephone - 64% responded “Every day.”
• Freedom to Make Decisions - 56% responded “Some freedom.”
• Contact With Others - 55% responded “Constant contact with others.”
• Spend Time Sitting - 53% responded “More than half the time.”
• Duration of Typical Work Week - 60% responded “More than 40 hours.”
• Structured versus Unstructured Work - 46% responded “Some freedom.”
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - 36% responded “Extremely important.”
• Coordinate or Lead Others - 40% responded “Very important.”
• Time Pressure - 48% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
• Deal With External Customers - 43% responded “Extremely important.”
• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - 52% responded “Moderate results.”
• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets - 24% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
• Responsibility for Outcomes and Results - 44% responded “High responsibility.”
• Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable - 32% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
• Frequency of Decision Making - 52% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
• Physical Proximity - 57% responded “Slightly close (e.g., shared office).”

Education

Percentage of Respondents	Education Level Required
59%	Bachelor's degree
33%	Master's degree
8%	Associate's degree

Work Styles

• Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
• Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
• Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
• Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
• Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
• Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
• Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
• Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
• Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
• Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
• Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
• Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
• Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
• Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Work Values

• Working Conditions - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
• Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
• Recognition - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Wages & Trends

• Median wages (2017)
  • $54.34 hourly, $113,030 annual
• Employment (2016)
  • 70,000 employees
• Projected growth (2016-2026)
  • Average (5% to 9%)
• Projected job openings (2016-2026)
  • 4,600