Architecture and Engineering · Holland code IRC
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.
Also called: Avionics Engineer, Design Engineer, Flight Test Engineer, Special Mission Engineer, Aeronautical Engineer, Aerospace Stress Engineer, Flight Controls Engineer, Flight Systems Test Engineer.
O*NET 17-2011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $134,960
- Middle half earn $106,110 to $169,690. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +6% · Faster than average
- 71,600 jobs in 2024, projected 75,900. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Aerospace engineers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- 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.
- Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
- Develop design criteria for aeronautical or aerospace products or systems, including testing methods, production costs, quality standards, environmental standards, or completion dates.
- Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
- Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
- 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.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
- Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
- Writing4.0 / 5
- Mathematics4.0 / 5
- Science4.0 / 5
- Active Listening3.9 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Engineering and Technology4.7 / 5
- Design4.7 / 5
- Mechanical4.3 / 5
- Mathematics4.1 / 5
- Physics4.1 / 5
- Computers and Electronics4.0 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic78
- Investigative84
- Artistic23
- Social4
- Enterprising25
- Conventional57
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- aerospace engineer · DE Ingenieur Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik/Ingenieurin Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik · FR ingénieur en aérospatiale/ingénieure en aérospatiale
- aerodynamics engineer · DE Ingenieur Aerodynamik/Ingenieurin Aerodynamik · FR aérodynamicien/aérodynamicienne
- flight test engineer · DE Flugtest-Ingenieur/Flugtest-Ingenieurin · FR ingénieur d’essais en vol/ingénieure d’essais en vol
- mechanical engineering technician · DE Maschinenbautechniker/Maschinenbautechnikerin · FR technicien en ingénierie mécanique/technicienne en ingénierie mécanique
- aerospace engineering technician · DE Flugzeugbautechniker/Flugzeugbautechnikerin · FR technicien en ingénierie aérospatiale/technicienne en ingénierie aérospatiale
- material stress analyst · DE Materialprüftechniker/Materialprüftechnikerin · FR analyste en comportement des matériaux
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Aerospace engineers (2126)41,700 employed
- Aircraft maintenance and related trades (5234)17,600 employed
- Mechanical engineers (professional) (2122)94,400 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.34. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (17-2011).
Related careers
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