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Career Details

17-2011.00 - Aerospace Engineers


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.


Key Facts
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Bright Outlook
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
72,500
Estimate
Forecasted Employment
70,800
Estimate
Change in Employment
-1,600
Estimate
Change in Employment %
-2.3%
Estimate
Tasks
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Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
  • Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
  • Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
  • Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
  • Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
  • Analyze project requests, proposals, or engineering data to determine feasibility, productibility, cost, or production time of aerospace or aeronautical products.
  • Plan or coordinate investigation and resolution of customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
  • Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
  • Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
  • 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.
Generic
  • Design or engineer filtration systems that reduce harmful emissions.
  • Evaluate biofuel performance specifications to determine feasibility for aerospace applications.
Supplemental
  • Evaluate and approve selection of vendors by studying past performance or new advertisements.
  • Design new or modify existing aerospace systems to reduce polluting emissions, such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, or smoke emissions.
  • Research new materials to determine quality or conformance to environmental standards.
  • Review aerospace engineering designs to determine how to reduce negative environmental impacts.
  • Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
  • Direct aerospace research and development programs.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge
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Knowledge

The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
 Engineering and Technology
  • 95%
    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
  • 85%
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
 Design
  • 83%
    Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
 Physics
  • 81%
    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
  • 77%
    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
 English Language
  • 76%
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 Mechanical
  • 68%
    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
 Production and Processing
  • 65%
    Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
 Transportation
  • 55%
    Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
 Administration and Management
  • 55%
    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
 Customer and Personal Service
  • 53%
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools
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Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Light and wave generating and measuring equipment
  • Anechoic chambers
  • Argon-ion lasers
  • Fiber optic interferometers
  • Lasers
  • Power microwave generators
  • Reflection polariscopes
  • Signal generators
  • Wave analyzers
 Engine components and accessories
  • Axial flow compressor facilities
 Metals and metallurgy and structural materials testing instruments
  • Axial flow research fans
  • Fatigue testing machines
  • Load frames
  • Vibration isolation tables
 Engines
  • Axial flow turbines
 Power tools
  • Centerless grinders
 Computers
  • Cluster computers
  • Mainframe computers
  • Parallel computers
  • Personal computers
  • Terminal computers
  • UNIX work stations
 Metal milling machines
  • Computer numerical controlled CNC milling machines
  • Multi-axis mills
 Electrical measuring and testing equipment and accessories
  • Digital oscilloscopes
  • Digital voltmeters DVM
 Flight instrumentation
  • Electronic flight instrument systems EFIS
 Indicating and recording instruments
  • Electronic pressure scanners
  • Force transducers
 Liquid and gas flow measuring and observing instruments
  • Flow meters
  • Laser Doppler velocimeters LDV
  • Laser velocimeters
 Fluid mechanics equipment
  • Impinging jet apparatus
  • Propellant combustion chambers
  • Vacuum facilities
  • Viscometers
 Laboratory pumps and tubing
  • Laboratory centrifugal pumps
 Mechanical instruments
  • Profilometers
  • Push/pull dynamometers
 Metal grinding machines
  • Surface grinding machines
 Non destructive examination equipment
  • Ultrasonic inspection equipment
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology
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Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Industry specific software
  • 1CadCam Unigraphics
  • Alstom ESARAD
  • Alstom ESATAN
  • Altera Quartus II
  • Analytical Graphics STK Expert Edition
  • ANSYS
  • Autodesk AutoCADHOT
  • Collier Research HyperSizer
  • Computational fluid dynamics CFD software
  • Computer aided design and drafting CADD softwareHOT
  • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
  • Computer-aided engineering CAE software
  • Cullimore & Ring Technologies SINDA/FLUINT
  • Cullimore & Ring Technologies Thermal Desktop
  • Dassault Systemes Abaqus
  • Dassault Systemes CATIAHOT
  • Dassault Systemes SolidWorksHOT
  • Data acquisition systems
  • ESI Group AutoSEA2
  • Fatigue analysis software
  • Finite element analysis FEA software
  • Finite element method FEM software
  • Flexible dynamics modeling software
  • Grid generation software
  • Harvard Thermal TAS
  • K&K Associates Thermal Analysis Kit TAK
  • Maplesoft Maple
  • Mathsoft MathcadHOT
  • MSC Software Fatigue
  • MSC Software Nastran
  • MSC Software Patran
  • Network Analysis SINDA-G
  • Phoenix Integration ModelCenter
  • PTC Creo ParametricHOT
  • Southwest Research Institute NASGRO
  • Stress analysis software
  • TEAM Engineering FEMAP
  • Tecplot Focus
  • The MathWorks MATLABHOT
  • The MathWorks Simulink
  • Thermal analysis software
  • Thermal design softwareHOT
  • Thermal Radiation Analysis System TRASYS
  • Thermal Synthesizer System TSS
  • UGS Solid EdgeHOT
  • Universal Technical Systems TK Solver
  • Wolfram Research Mathematica
  • Xilinx TMRToolHOT
 Development software
  • Ada
  • C
  • C++HOT
  • Digital Equipment Corporation DIGITAL Fortran 90
  • Extensible markup language XMLHOT
  • Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
  • IBM Rational ClearCase
  • IBM Rational ClearQuest
  • IBM Rational DOORS
  • IBM Rational Requisite Pro
  • Microsoft Visual BasicHOT
  • Microsoft Visual C#
  • Microsoft Visual C++
  • National Instruments LabVIEWHOT
  • Oracle JavaHOT
  • Practical extraction and reporting language PerlHOT
  • PythonHOT
  • Sun Microsystems Java
  • Verilog
 Operating environment software
  • Hewlett-Packard HP OpenVMS
  • LinuxHOT
  • Microsoft WindowsHOT
  • Shell scriptHOT
  • UNIXHOT
 Content authoring and editing software
  • Image processing systems
  • Microsoft ExcelHOT
  • Microsoft PowerPointHOT
  • Microsoft VisioHOT
  • Microsoft WordHOT
 Data management and query software
  • Microsoft AccessHOT
  • Structure query language SQL
 Business function specific software
  • Microsoft OfficeHOT
  • Microsoft ProjectHOT
  • PTC Pro/INTRALINK
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications
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Certifications
The certifications listed below are useful to pursue if you are interested in a career in this field.
 Specialty
  • Certified Value Specialist
    136 South Keowee Street, Dayton, OH 45402

  • Vehicle Processing Certification
    7099 N. Atlantic Avenue, Suite 300, Cape Canaveral, FL. 32920

  • Aerospace Manufacturing Certification
    7099 N. Atlantic Avenue, Suite 300, Cape Canaveral, FL. 32920

  • Composites Certification
    7099 N. Atlantic Avenue, Suite 300, Cape Canaveral, FL. 32920

 Advanced
 Core
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Licensing
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Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs
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Online Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.

Clicking on the Degree programs in the list below will take you away from the Careers page.
INSTITUTION
PROGRAMS
Rappahannock Community College
Wytheville Community College