STONY POINT HS -- ROUND ROCK ISD

Aerospace Engineering
Salary and Demand
Matthew Greb
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Table of Contents
Becoming an Engineer
Demand Comparison
Comparing Salaries by Location
Compare Salary by Education
Citations

Becoming an Engineer
What they do

Aerospace Engineers are involved in the design, manufacturing, and testing of

aeronautic parts. They assign projects involved with aerospace, determine the
standards that must be met for those projects, and how they will be met. They usually
specialize in a specific type of aircraft, ranging from helicopters to rockets. There are 2
main types of Aerospace Engineers, Aeronautical Engineers, who are almost
exclusively involved in flight within the earths atmosphere, and Astronautical
Engineers, who primarily work with machines destined for outer space.

Work
Environment

Aerospace Engineers primarily work in firms involved in the design of parts, the
scientific research of flight, or for the federal government. They work almost
exclusively with aircraft. They spend more time in offices than in the past, thanks to
the need for simulators, and the convenience of computer programs aiding in
designing. They still, however, need to be able to collaborate with others in order to
get things done.

How to become
one

Aerospace Engineers usually only require a Bachelors degree in terms of education.

They are not required to have any licensing at the entry-level, however, in order to get
better engineering jobs, they usually must get the Professional Engineer license. To do
this, you need a degree from a university certified by ABET, relevant work experience,
and passing scores on the fundamentals of engineering exam, and the Professional
Engineer exam. They usually must also be U.S. citizens, and pass security
clearances.

http://www.bls.gov/

Demand Comparison

Aerospace engineers are projected to be in lower than average demand among both the totality of all
professions, and among the totality of engineers (at least according to their projected growth). The
comparison to engineers may be at least slightly because the demand for engineers has some major
outliers (Biomedical and Petroleum engineers), but that doesnt mean that its not below average among all
professions. Still, in terms of engineers, it is equal to one of the sects of engineering, greater than one sect,
and less than one (majorly outlying) sect. One interesting thing is that the amount of job growth is actually
very similar between the sects, even with the vastly different percentages of growth, thanks to some sects
(Electrical) being far larger than others (Biomedical). Overall, although it might not have the highest amount
of new job opportunities, its still not a bad job to shoot for in the future (if you want to work for the
government, where many of the jobs are, at least).
www.bls.gov

Comparing Salaries by Location

Both cities have their largest increase in average salary from entry-level positions, to positions with minimal
experience (3-4 years). The rate of increase then continues to decline as the positions get higher, but keep
going up nonetheless. For every level of engineer, Washington DC has a higher average salary available.
However, the cost of living in Pittsburgh is far lower (most of this is housing, which is 67% less in
Pittsburgh, the rest of the values are pretty close, but its still lower). If you take the cost of living into
account with the jobs, Pittsburgh has a far higher average salary available than Washington DC.
www1.salary.com
http://money.cnn.com/

Compare Salary by Education

The salary changes based on years of experience are roughly the same for each of the education levels.
Each of the education level salaries are roughly the same, with average increases from one to the next
being about $800 for all years of experience. If these numbers apply to a general consensus of jobs, its not
really worth it to get the extra education. College educations (at a good college) are very expensive, usually
a bare minimum of $10,000 a year. It would therefore take 20+ years for any of the extra degrees to be
worth it, not including interest on loans, or anything of that sort. Plus, extra education is really just a bonus
for the job, its not really necessary in order to find employment, so it seems altogether better to just head
out into the workforce with your Bachelors degree, rather than wasting money getting more degrees.
www1.salary.com

Citations
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/aerospace-engineers.htm#tab-4
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/aerospace-engineers.htm#tab-3
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/aerospace-engineers.htm#tab-2
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/computer-hardware-engineers.htm#tab-6
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/aerospace-engineers.htm#tab-6
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm#tab-6
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/biomedical-engineers.htm#tab-6
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-III-Salary-Details-Pittsburgh-PA.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-II-Salary-Details-Pittsburgh-PA.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-I-Salary-Details-Pittsburgh-PA.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-IV-Salary-Details-Pittsburgh-PA.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-IV-Salary-Details-Washington-DC.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-III-Salary-Details-Washington-DC.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-II-Salary-Details-Washington-DC.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Aerospace-Engineer-I-Salary-Details-Washington-DC.aspx