STONYPOINTHSROUNDROCKISD

AerospaceEngineering
SalaryandDemand

EdisonSotelo
11/9/2014

TableofContents

BecominganEngineer
DemandComparison
ComparingSalariesbyLocation
CompareSalarybyEducation
Citations

BecominganEngineer

Whattheydo

Aerospaceengineersdesign,manufacture,andtestaircraft,spacecraft,ormissiles.
Theyspecializeinafieldlikethermodynamicsoraerodynamicsandthenworkwith
othersthatspecializeinadifferentfieldtobuildnewtechnologythatcanbeusedin
aviation,spacecraftordefensesystems.Evaluatingthedesignsoftheaircraftto
makesurethatstandardsaremet,customerrequirementsareensured,andthatthe
designissafeforflightissomethingtheyalsodo.Thereareaeronauticalengineers
whichworkonaircraftforcommercialflightormilitaryhelicoptersandairplanesinside
theearth'satmosphere.Thentheresastronauticalengineerswhichworkon
spacecraftoutsideoftheearthsatmospherelikesatellitesandspaceships,theymade
spacetravelpossible.

Work
Environment

Aerospaceengineersnowusuallyworkinanofficeenvironmentwheretheyuse
computersoftwaretodesign,model,andtesttheiraircraft.Theyprimarilyworkfor
firmsthatfocusondesignandanalysis,researchanddevelopment,and
manufacturingforthefederalgovernment.Theseengineersneedtohavegood
communicationskillssincetheywillworkwithotherprofessionalstoreachacommon
goalanddivideworkintomanageabletasks.Thislineofworkisafulltimejobwith
deadlineshavingtobemetwhichmeansthatextrahoursforprojectdirectorsmaybe
needed.Thedirectorswillcheckthedesignprogress,designmeetsrequirements,
aircraftperformance,andtomakesureproductmeetsdesignstandards,

Howtobecome
one

Aerospaceengineersneedtohaveabachelorsdegreeinaerospaceengineeringor
anyothertypeofsciencerelatedaerospacesystems.Studentsinhighschoolshould
studychemistry,physics,andmathclasseslikealgebra,calculus,andtrigonometry.
ExperiencedaerospaceengineersusuallyearnthePE(ProfessionalEngineer)
licensewhichrequiresapassingscoreonthePEandtheFE(Fundamentalsof
Engineering)exams,adegreefromanABETengineeringprogram,andwork
experience.TheFEexamcanbetakenaftergraduatingwithabachelorsdegreeand
whenpassedtheywillbecalledEI(EngineeringInterns),afteryearsofexperience,
theycantakethesecondexamforPE.Someaerospaceengineersworkfornational
defensewhichrequiressecurityclearance,whilesomelevelsofclearancewould
requireU.S.citizenship.

http://www.bls.gov/

DemandComparison

Aerospaceengineeringisexpectedtotoincreaseemploymentrate7percentmorefrom2012to2022
whichis2percentlowerthanwhatengineersingeneralwillincrease,9percent,and4percentlessthanall
joboccupations,11percent.Aerospaceemploymentratecomparedtomechanicalengineeringwillbe2
percenthighermakingmechanicalhavea5percentincrease.Comparedtonuclear,whichtheemployment
rateisexactlythesamelikethegeneralengineering,itis2percentlower,makingnuclearhaveahigher
rateof9percentemploymentrateincrease.Lastly,biomedicalengineeringsemploymentrateisexpected
toincrease27percent,makingithigherthananythingelseonthelistandhavinganemploymentrate20
percenthigherthanaerospace.Inconclusion,aerospaceengineeringdoesnothavethehighest
employmentrateincreasebutalsodoesnthavethelowesteventhoughitislowerthantheaverage
increase.
www.bls.gov

ComparingSalariesbyLocation

InAustin,TX,whenyoustartworkingwith0yearofexperience,youllearn$59,486ayearbutinNew
York,NYyouwillearn$72,812.Whenyougetajobasanaerospaceengineerlevel2with34yearsof
experience,youllearn$81,443ayearinAustinand$99,675inNewYork,earningmorethan$20,000a
yearthanwhatyoustartedwith.Asanaerospaceengineerlevel3with79yearsofexperience,inAustin
yoursalarywillbe$91,862increasingabout$10,000andinNewYorkitwillriseto$112,441increasing
about$13,000.Lastlyasanaerospaceengineerlevel4with1014yearsofexperience,yourAustinsalary
willbe$98,418,a$7,000increasefromlevel3andinNewYorkitwillbe$120,466,an$8,000increasefrom
before.NowthecostoflivinginAustin,TXismuchdifferentthaninManhattaninNewYork.Someonethat
makes$55,000inAustinwouldneedtomake$127,963inManhattantoliveaboutthesamesincegroceries
cost65%more,housingis409%more,utilitiesare45%more,transportationis28%more,andhealthcare
is10%more.SoyouwouldhavetomakemorethantwiceasmuchinManhattanasyouwouldinAustinto
liveaboutthesame.
www1.salary.com
http://money.cnn.com/

CompareSalarybyEducation

Startingofwith0yearsofexperience,havingabachelorsdegreecomparedtoaPhDisnotmuchofa
difference,you'reonlygoingtoearn$1500morewithaPhDthanwithaBachelors.With34yearsof
experiencethedifferenceislowerbyjust$1200betweenaBachelorstoaPhDanda$750toamasters
andBachelors.Having79yearsofexperience,youwillonlybemaking$1000dollarsmorewithaPhD
thanyouwouldwithabachelorsandfor1014yearsitwillbelessthan$1000.Sohavingtogotoschoolfor
twiceaslongforaPhdisnotworthittomeifyouarejustgoingtobemakinglessthan$2000morefor
havingtogotoschoolandpayfor4moreyearsaftergettingyourbachelors.Ibelieveitisbesttojustpay
forschooluntilyoureceiveyourbachelorsandthenstartworkingthanwasteanother2to4yearsandget
moreintodebttojustmakeabout$1000more.
www1.salary.com

Citations
BecominganEngineer
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architectureandengineering/aerospaceengineers.htm#tab2
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architectureandengineering/aerospaceengineers.htm#tab3
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architectureandengineering/aerospaceengineers.htm#tab4

DemandComparison
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architectureandengineering/aerospaceengineers.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architectureandengineering/biomedicalengineers.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architectureandengineering/mechanicalengineers.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architectureandengineering/nuclearengineers.htm

CompareSalariesbyLocation
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/costofliving/
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerISalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerISalaryDetailsNewYorkNY.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIISalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIISalaryDetailsNewYorkNY.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIIISalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIIISalaryDetailsNewYorkNY.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIVSalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIVSalaryDetailsNewYorkNY.aspx

CompareSalariesbyEducation
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerISalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIISalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIIISalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/AerospaceEngineerIVSalaryDetailsAustinTX.aspx