Aerospace engineering involves designing and building vessels for air travel, and can lead to careers in aircraft and spacecraft design, as well as weapons manufacturing. It is a competitive field, but offers job satisfaction and opportunities for specialization in areas such as thermodynamics and fluid dynamics. While it is possible to enter the field with other engineering degrees, specific credentials in aerospace engineering are preferred. The field also extends to vessel engineering for submarines and high-speed trains.
Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the design and construction of vessels intended for air travel. Engineers in this field usually receive an aerospace engineering degree that prepares them for various careers within this industry. If you decide to major in aerospace engineering, you could find employment with an aircraft manufacturer designing and building new aircraft, or you could find jobs designing spacecraft capable of leaving Earth’s atmosphere. Weapons manufacturers will also hire aerospace engineers to design and build various artillery and weapons such as missiles.
After earning a degree in aerospace engineering, you must be prepared for a rigorous and highly competitive job market, but you must also be prepared for a rewarding career that offers a lot of job satisfaction. As a professional working in the field, you may end up working exclusively on aircraft design or other aerospace projects, meaning you’ll be studying the theory behind flight characteristics and previous aircraft designs to come up with new ways to achieve flight. In fact, you might end up doing research exclusively, whether it’s for a private company, a government agency, or even an educational institution.
You may decide to become more specialized after earning a degree in aerospace engineering. You can, for example, become an expert in thermodynamics, which is an important study as it applies to aerospace technology. Fluid dynamics is yet another scientific field that you can study. Some job seekers who major in aerospace engineering focus on propulsion, which is essentially the theory and practice of moving an aircraft forward or up off the ground. This subfield requires, at a minimum, a solid understanding of physics, chemistry, and aerodynamics.
The field of aerospace engineering is quite broad and can include other engineering fields such as chemical engineering or electrical engineering. Therefore, it is possible to enter the field with an engineering degree other than an aerospace engineering degree, although the most qualified candidates will have specific credentials for the aerospace industry. A candidate holding this degree is likely to work in the aeronautical industry, although positions are also available in other applications such as vessel engineering – particularly pertaining to submarines and other submersibles – as well as land-based vessels such as certain types of trains. Bullet trains, for example, or high-speed trains may require an aerospace engineer to design and implement.
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