STEM

Aerospace Engineer

Design, build, and test aircraft, rockets, and satellites, and figure out why they fly the way they do

Open interactive guide

What does an Aerospace Engineer do?

Aerospace engineers work for aircraft makers, space companies, defense contractors, and government agencies. They study airflow, materials, and engines, then test designs with computers, wind tunnels, and flights. Many jobs require U.S. citizenship because of security rules.

A day in the life

8:00 AMReview data from yesterday's wind tunnel test
9:30 AMRun a computer model of air flowing over a new wing
11:00 AMMeet materials experts about a lighter panel
1:00 PMCheck a rocket part against strict safety requirements
2:30 PMWork with technicians to set up a ground test
4:00 PMLog test results and flag anything that missed the target

What's great

  • Work on aircraft, rockets, and satellites
  • Teams of experts share big goals
  • Space and flight projects inspire people
  • Skills carry into cars and energy

The hard parts

  • Many jobs need citizenship and security checks
  • Projects last years before the first flight
  • Government budgets can change plans
  • A failed test can send you back to redesign

What is an Aerospace Engineer's salary and outlook?

$73k – $183k
Salary Range
Bachelor's degree
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $73,200 to $183,000 a year, with a midpoint around $122,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become an Aerospace Engineer?

A common path is Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering. The ladder often runs from Junior Aerospace Engineer to Aerospace Engineer, then Lead Systems Engineer, and Chief Engineer. Other routes: Mechanical engineering degree with aerospace courses; Student rocket or design-build team; Master's degree for research or design roles; Military aviation maintenance or engineering.

  • Mechanical engineering degree with aerospace courses
  • Student rocket or design-build team
  • Master's degree for research or design roles
  • Military aviation maintenance or engineering

Career path

Entry level
Junior Aerospace Engineer
Mid career
Aerospace Engineer
Senior
Lead Systems Engineer
Executive
Chief Engineer

Will AI replace an Aerospace Engineer?

How much will AI change this job?

A lot

AI will change many everyday tasks in this job. The work shifts toward judgment, checking, and people.

AI reshapes aerospace engineering toward design judgment and testing.

Aerospace engineers will use AI to speed up calculations, simulations, and drafts of designs. This frees up time for solving tricky problems and making sure aircraft and spacecraft are safe. The job shifts toward checking AI's work and making final calls that require real expertise.

AI can help with

  • Running fast simulations of flight and stress tests
  • Drafting early design options for parts
  • Checking calculations and spotting errors in data

What stays human

  • Deciding if a design is truly safe to build
  • Solving brand-new problems no one has seen before
  • Working with teams to balance cost, safety, and performance

Skills to build now

  • Practice math and physics, especially forces and motion
  • Build and test models in clubs like robotics or rocketry
  • Learn to explain technical ideas clearly to others

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.