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.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Science
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Listening
Key knowledge
- Engineering and Technology
- Design
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Production and Processing
What the work involves
- Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
- Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
- 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.
- Analyze project requests, proposals, or engineering data to determine feasibility, productibility, cost, or production time of aerospace or aeronautical products.
- Plan or coordinate investigation and resolution of customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
- Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
- Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Realistic, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (80% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (26.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (32.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Aerospace Engineers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 79% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others about half the time” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 69% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 83% of occupations compared | 66% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 75% of occupations compared | 81% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 83% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 95% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 98% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 58% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Occasional contact with others: 1.23%
- Contact with others about half the time: 46.01%
- Contact with others most of the time: 11.27%
- Constant contact with others: 41.49%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 8.8%
- Fairly important: 1.23%
- Important: 16.4%
- Very important: 37.24%
- Extremely important: 36.32%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 1.42%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 32.42%
- Extremely important: 66.16%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 8.8%
- Very little freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Limited freedom: 1.23%
- Some freedom: 81.03%
- A lot of freedom: 8.94%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.21%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 52.17%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 17.63%
- Every day: 16.99%
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 15.68%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 71.75%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.03%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.54%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 13, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 36.96%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 52.9%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.14%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.84%
- Fairly serious: 44.26%
- Serious: 18.9%
- Very serious: 3.39%
- Extremely serious: 30.62%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 17-2011.00 · SOC 17-2011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8