What is an Aerospace Engineer?

According to AIAA, an Aerospace Engineer is a person who is involved in all phases of research and development in Aeronautics and Astronautics. ... more

The aerospace engineer is a highly skilled professional that functions within the development of missiles, spacecraft, and aircraft used for travel and the transport of goods from one location to another. Within the broad range of aerospace engineers, there are also subgroups of engineers who focus on specific areas of aeronautic research and development. An aeronautical engineer is a type of aerospace engineer that focuses on the development and production of airborne vehicles that are designed for passenger transport, as well as the transport of goods from one location to another. This particular field of expertise would involve everything from small single airplanes to large jets that make it possible for hundreds of passengers to fly from one city to another. Aeronautics also involve the design and construction of airborne vehicles that are used for military purposes as well. Thus, the aerospace engineer with a focus on aeronautics may be involved in the process of developing newer ... more

Aerospace engineers design, analyze, model, simulate, and test aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, missiles, and rockets. Their technologies are used in aviation, defense systems, and space exploration. The range of duties as an aerospace engineer vary widely from designing products such as commercial transports, military fighter jets, and helicopters, or to being experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, or guidance and control systems. Since this field of study is so broad, it is split into two primary divisions: Aeronautics and Astronautics. Aeronautics focuses on systems that operate in the Earth’s atmosphere and Astronautics on those operating in space. Within these two divisions, there are four main areas: aerodynamics, dynamics and control, propulsion,, and structure. I myself am focused on two specific areas: aerodynamics which is the study of fluid motion around a body moving through the atmosphere at speeds that range from subsonic to ... more

Aerospace engineers design, construct, and operate aircraft, aerospace vehicles, and propulsion systems. As an aerospace engineer you might design a plane, a glider, a helicopter, missiles, or spacecraft. Aerospace engineers also research, develop, and test new materials, engines, and body shapes and structures that may increase the speed and strength of airborne vehicles. What are you like? ... more