Aerospace Engineer Salary

By John Carver


Aerospace engineering is one field of engineering that promises a rewarding career. An aerospace engineer is engage in coming up with missile, aircraft and spacecraft's design. Manufacturing and enhancing the spacecraft and aircraft is also part of its job description. Mastery and application of mathematics and physics is essential in this field of engineering. One thing that makes this career even more lucrative is the many career opportunities presented in public and private area making aerospace engineers the highest paid engineers.

All aerospace jobs require at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited university. These degrees take at least four years of study to attain. Students often require five years to receive their bachelor's degrees. Starting salaries for engineers are some of the highest in the United States for job applicants just graduating from college. There is also good job security for engineers. Aerospace engineer starting salaries are near the median starting salary for all engineers. However, the aerospace engineer salary quickly becomes the highest median salary among all engineers. The median annual aerospace engineer salary is about $100,000. The annual minimum starting salary for an aerospace engineer who just graduated from college is $40,000 per year. The median starting annual aerospace engineer salary is $60,000 per year. This figure can increase up to $100,000 for the highest paid starting aerospace engineers.

The starting salaries for aerospace engineers increase with the level of education. The median annual starting aerospace engineer salary for a master's level engineer is $62,000. The median annual starting salary for a doctorate level aerospace engineer is $74,000.

The reason aerospace engineering prefer to be employed by the private sector is the salary offered here which is relatively higher compared to the public sector. It is a different story if the engineer is employed at National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA. At NASA, the aerospace engineer can earn as much as $108,000 for an average annual salary. National Space Science Data Center, Department of Defense, United States Navy, Federal Aviation Administration and national Laboratories are some federal government agencies that require the expertise of aerospace engineers. Those who prefer to work in the private sector can choose among these companies. These are; Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, SAIC, General Dynamics, United Technologies and Boeing. Incidentally, Boeing pays the highest salary among all the private companies.

Another job opportunity for aerospace engineers is teaching at the college level. In order to be considered for these positions, the candidate must have a doctorate degree.

A good way for the aerospace engineer graduate to obtain a high-paying starting job is to participate in an internship program while still in college. A successful internship will lead to contacts, potential references for a resume and perhaps a job offer. Many colleges have internship programs to help students find work during college in both the public and private sectors. NASA also has an internship program for college aerospace engineer students.

Now it can be told that aerospace engineering job is the highest paying job in the country today. The options are endless as the engineers can choose to be employed in the public sector or the private sector and even teach in college.




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