Q: What are all the qualifications required to be employed as an aerospace engineer?

A: Individual company needs are going to vary slightly from place to place, but generally speaking employers are going to be looking for drafting skills, i.e. CAD whether it be AutoCad, SolidWorks, SolidEdge, etc. Coding skills are also something most places would want in an aerospace engineer such as ability to write programs in MATLAB, C++, C#. Database programming is also a big plus in today’s market. In the digital age of big data, the ability to code algorithms and sift through data using SQL language or Python is a big deal. Problem solving skills are a must. It’s also very important for most places to see that you have good communication skills, both written and spoken. Since most of your colleagues won’t have an engineering background, it’s important to be able to communicate complicated matters in a clear and concise manner so that anyone can understand. To prove that you meet these qualifications, companies look for 1 of 2 things (or both) – experience in the industry or a degree from an accredited university. College isn’t necessarily important because of what you learn, it’s more proving that you have the ability to learn and apply the knowledge.

Q: Was additional training required after you completed your college degree program?

A: As mentioned above, individual company needs will vary from place to place. So there will always be additional training depending on the requirements and needs of the company. Learning the business software that is used, adapting to a different programming language that you’re not used to, and standard operating procedures for how business is conducted at your new company. Additional training, whether required or not, is always a positive. If you can expand upon your skills and knowledge base it can only benefit you in the long run.

Q: Did you specialize in a certain branch of aerospace engineering?

A: Being that I jumped right into the workforce after receiving my undergraduate degree, I did not specialize in a certain branch of aerospace engineering. Any specialization in the field, from an education stand point, comes from graduate school. Even though I did not go, I would certainly recommend grad school for those who have the patience (and money for that matter). Grad students tend to get hired faster and in higher level jobs than those who just get their undergraduate degree.

Q:  Can you mention a few pros and cons for a person who is employed as an aerospace engineer?
Pros:
A: I can’t speak for everyone as pros and cons are all relative to perspective, but from my point of view some pros would be:
Autonomy – Since you’re the one with the specialized skill set you typically will be given assignment and then left alone to your own device to finish them. It’s nice not being micromanaged and told how to do things every step of the way. This, however, also lends to the need to be very self-motivated.
Creation satisfaction – Nothing is more fulfilling, in my opinion, then seeing an idea come to life and getting to say ‘I made that’.
Compensation – Said as humbly as possible, I would be lying if I didn’t say that the money was good

Cons:
A: Long hours – Often times an aerospace engineer will be given strict deadlines and have to work long hours to complete projects. It can be stressful at times.
Surprise audits – If your company is actually manufacturing parts that go on commercial or military aircraft, the FAA, USDD, or any other customer can show up at your facility unannounced at any time for a surprise audit. Because of this, you need to always be on your toes and have your ducks in a row.
Design failure – As they say, you can’t win them all. It’s inevitable that at times ones design is not going to work as intended. And redesigns are always given much shorter timelines for completion. As I say this though, it’s important to never be afraid of failure. 

Q:  Why is aerospace engineering important in the world we live in today?

A: Any type of innovation or discovery is important in any world we live it to drive society forward. How can we make commercial air travel faster, safer, and cheaper? How can we better defend ourselves from our enemies? What can we discover beyond our atmosphere and can it be harnessed in any way to our benefit? These are all questions that are being asked to aerospace engineers and the answers can benefit everyone.

Q:  Can you briefly summarize what a day in the life of an aerospace engineer is like?

A: The answer to this question will be vastly differ from one engineer to the next. In the manufacturing world there are many different types of engineers – Design engineers will typically spend most of their time proofing out their designs by doing calculation and CAD drawings; Manufacturing or Applications engineers will work directly with the technicians to improve efficiencies in the manufacturing process; Quality Engineers (this is the one I fall into) spend their time ensuring the quality of incoming and in-house product through inspection and testing. Also, quality is responsible to resolve any failures that have occurred in the field to any of your company’s product.

Q: When did you first consider pursuing aerospace engineering as a possible career?

A: As cliché as this may sound, when I was a child I saw the movie Apollo 13 and wanted to be an astronaut from there on out. By the time I was in high school I thought the best path to becoming an astronaut was to be an aerospace engineer. I’ve since recalibrated by career goals but as the saying goes ‘shoot for the moon and even if you miss you’ll land among the stars’.

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of you job?

A: The most challenging aspect of my job specifically is balancing the cost/value relationship of inspections and tests. Ideally one would want to inspect everything and anything and have the most extensive testing as possible. But your company still needs to make money and the more time spent inspecting and testing, the less your profit margins will be. I constantly find myself at odds with the manufacturing group whom are always trying to do things cheaper and faster. Therefore I need to answer the question ‘Does the added value justify the cost?’ which doesn’t always have the most black and white answer.

Q: What is the job outlook like for a person who has the credentials to be employed as an aerospace engineer?

A: If you have the credentials to be employed as an aerospace engineer I would say your job outlook it pretty dang good compared to many others. That isn’t necessarily to say that you will get placed into the aerospace industry easily, but with credentials of that pedigree, you could get hired as an engineer in any field that involves fluid dynamics or thermodynamics or any mechanics for that matter.

Q: What courses would you recommend a high school student to take if they were going to pursue a career in aerospace engineering? Is there any you wish you would have taken but didn't?

A: Take as many physics and math courses as possible. Also if your school offers any computer science or computer programming classes, I would highly recommend those. The one class I wish I would have taken that I did not in high school is Linear Algebra. It’s not always offered in high schools, as was my case, but it’s definitely needed to get an aerospace engineering degree. It would have been nice to have a head start on the concept instead of seeing it for the first time in college.