New member here, would GREATLY appreciate some aerospace engineer info!

[Artdizzle]

Hello,

I just happened upon this forum, and I have to say it seems pretty amazing all the topics it covers, I wish I had found it sooner! I already know this will become a useful resource for me.

Unfortunately, I already must ask for the help and time of any forum members willing to offer it, and this thread will probably seem pretty trivial in comparison to how technical this forum is.

I must conduct a short Q&A for a class assignment of someone within the field of my chosen career, aerospace engineering. They are simple questions about what you like the most about this career, what a typical day on the job is, etc.

If anyone within this field can spare just a couple of minutes to answer questions about this career, I would greatly appreciate it!

1. Any background you would be willing to provide to prove I didn't just make a person up to question: A name to call you by (worded this way intentionally), job title, company, and what is your prior education and work experience?

2. Describe a typical day for you in this career.

3. What do you enjoy the most/find the most interesting about this career?

4. What is the least enjoyable aspect of this career?

5. What skills/knowledge are most often used in a typical day within this career?

6. Why did you decide on this particular career and employer, and are your expectations for it based on this satisfied now?

7. Are there any educational/work decisions you would change, or additional steps you would have taken towards your career path now?

8. Is there any advice you would give to someone considering a career in aerospace engineering, including additional education, preparation, or natural skills that you would deem necessary?

9. What would you suggest for succeeding within this career's job market? What did your employer seem to value the most?

10. What would you suggest for successful networking (should I attend seminars, etc.) if networking is important and applicable in this career?

Of course, if you would rather PM the answers or prefer to omit answers, I'd understand and won't complain!

If no one can or wants to answer, I would also completely understand, and would like to thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this post anyway.

Thank You!

Arthur

[Rigga]

Art,
Sometimes titles get blurred with translation as to what they really mean - and it's not clear (to me, English UK) who you're aiming your questions at.
Are you aiming for aircraft maintenance mechanics (English US) or factory-type design engineers?
There is a large difference and I don't think there's a lot of design engineers on this forum. (but I am now bound to be proven wrong with that last statement!)

[lomapaseo]

Sometimes titles get blurred with translation as to what they really mean - and it's not clear (to me, English UK) who you're aiming your questions at.
Are you aiming for aircraft maintenance mechanics (English US) or factory-type design engineers?
There is a large difference and I don't think there's a lot of design engineers on this forum. (but I am now bound to be proven wrong with that last statement!)

xactly :ok:

no way to answer questions like the above.

besides I would hate to list my time getting a cup of coffee, sitting in meetings just to listen, answering the phone, calling the wife, staring at the computer screen while reading office E-mails. Running a computer code with different inputs, explaining to the boss why it won't work etc.

Then there is the excitement of scanning PPRuNe looking for postings that I can jump on and tell somebody they are wrong. :)

[Artdizzle]

I see! Yes, originally my question was aimed at the "designers" of aircraft/spacecraft, however anyone in the aerospace industry who takes the time to answer the questions will not be ignored... I would definitely be able to use that as my interview as well. My assignment and I are not picky. :)

[Genghis the Engineer]

Hello,

I just happened upon this forum, and I have to say it seems pretty amazing all the topics it covers, I wish I had found it sooner! I already know this will become a useful resource for me.

Unfortunately, I already must ask for the help and time of any forum members willing to offer it, and this thread will probably seem pretty trivial in comparison to how technical this forum is.

I must conduct a short Q&A for a class assignment of someone within the field of my chosen career, aerospace engineering. They are simple questions about what you like the most about this career, what a typical day on the job is, etc.

If anyone within this field can spare just a couple of minutes to answer questions about this career, I would greatly appreciate it!

I'll give it a go. I am commonly referred to as an aerospace engineer, although I prefer the term "aeronautical" myself as "aerospace" tends to mean to me either space specialists (which I've not been for 2 decades) or the people who do the behind the scenes systems development work without ever going near a flying machine - which isn't me either.

1. Any background you would be willing to provide to prove I didn't just make a person up to question: A name to call you by (worded this way intentionally), job title, company, and what is your prior education and work experience?

Apprenticeship, bachelors degree in aeronautical engineering, PhD in aerospace engineering, 20ish years in the flying machine world specialising originally in flight testing, then airworthiness, and most recently research. Nowadays I'm fairly senior. I'm a UK Chartered Engineer - which is pretty much identical to the USian PEng, and a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society, which is equivalent to the USian AIAA.

2. Describe a typical day for you in this career.
Basically there's no such thing - I can cover any of a massive range of topics, and may be managing problems in the field, writing reports, attending or chairing meetings, preparing original analysis, dealing with HR or financial problems...

What is common to my job is that virtually nothing I do is "solo" - it's all about teamwork and communication - so I spend a very large amount of my time in meetings or dealing with internal or external communications.

3. What do you enjoy the most/find the most interesting about this career?
The sheer variety - there's basically nothing I'm allowed not to deal with in my field; if the problem comes up in my department , it's mine. Also like very many people in my field, I travel a great deal, so seeing different countries - climates and cultures is also a major interest (although I still have to work very hard when I get to all these countries!).

4. What is the least enjoyable aspect of this career?
The sheer amount of time spent in meetings, and also when you reach any level of seniority, you also have the dubious pleasure of managing budgets and expenditure - which most of us hate, and most of us had little training for.

5. What skills/knowledge are most often used in a typical day within this career?

My technical knowledge and education clearly, occasionally higher maths (although that is frankly overstated much of the time -I don't think in 20 years I've used anything much more complex than a second order differential equation), but above all else my communication skills - a professional engineer spends a massive amount of his/her time in communicating through every possible medium, and without those skills, they're getting nowhere.

6. Why did you decide on this particular career and employer, and are your expectations for it based on this satisfied now?

Like anybody else, I took the best job(s) available to me so far employer was concerned.

I went into aeronautical engineering because of a fascination with the technical aspects of manned flight vehicles. That's never left me.

I originally went into flight testing because I wanted to work with whole flight vehicles and not become an expert in left hand underriage oleos or whatever other narrow specialism an employer wanted to shove me. That has guided my subsequent moves into airworthiness and research.

7. Are there any educational/work decisions you would change, or additional steps you would have taken towards your career path now?

I've had failures and disasters, but none proved ultimately career or lifestyle limiting. I do wish I'd found the time and inclination to be better at languages, which would be valuable. I probably also should understand financial management far better than I do.

8. Is there any advice you would give to someone considering a career in aerospace engineering, including additional education, preparation, or natural skills that you would deem necessary?

Don't allow yourself any weak points - whether it's the maths or the soft skills such as management and writing, or systems knowledge - or even the background science. Any weak point will limit you.

Learn to fly - understanding the operator's issues make a big difference in your ability to engage with them, and give insights that a pure engineering education doesn't provide.

9. What would you suggest for succeeding within this career's job market? What did your employer seem to value the most?

My employers have always valued my breadth of professional and educational experience, although most have also then tried hard to stop me increasing that whilst I worked for them. A certain amount of "freelancing" has always been necessary for my personal development and sanity. That need not be paid however - it can be building a kitplane, helping out at the local aviation museum - there are many opportunities.

You do need to be an aviation / aerospace obsessive to succeed. It is not *just* a job.

10. What would you suggest for successful networking (should I attend seminars, etc.) if networking is important and applicable in this career?

Join the main professional societies (such as AIAA in the USA) and become active in local activities. If there are national activities, get involved in those as well.

Have at-least one relevant hobby.

Of course, if you would rather PM the answers or prefer to omit answers, I'd understand and won't complain!

If no one can or wants to answer, I would also completely understand, and would like to thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this post anyway.

Thank You!

Arthur

By all means email follow up questions to me. I can't receive PMs at the moment.

G

[Artdizzle]

THANK YOU, so much! I was coming up on the deadline for this assignment and all of my avenues for possible interviews were exhausted as of today... I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't responded. Couldn't be more grateful! :ok: I have just one question for you that I'll be emailing you shortly.

Assignments like these usually aren't genuinely useful, just school work, but as I was thinking of questions to ask, I realized I still didn't actually know what aerospace engineers do, despite my earlier research and the fact that I'm dedicating my whole life to doing this.

So, this has been very enlightening.

I always assumed it was difficult to find out "exactly" what aerospace engineers do because it's such a broad field, as well as because it must be such a dynamic position. You confirmed some of this, but mostly you surprised me with what the position actually entails, and actually I'm perfectly fine with it... somehow it makes the career seem more real, including the not-so-good things that come with it.

Again, thanks for the responses, I appreciate it. I hope to contribute something worthwhile in these forums with my next post. :)

[Rigga]

And welcome back Genghis...long time no read!

[Genghis the Engineer]

And welcome back Genghis...long time no read!

Thanks Rigga, it's good to be back.

G

[Genghis the Engineer]

THANK YOU, so much! I was coming up on the deadline for this assignment and all of my avenues for possible interviews were exhausted as of today... I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't responded. Couldn't be more grateful! :ok: I have just one question for you that I'll be emailing you shortly.

Assignments like these usually aren't genuinely useful, just school work, but as I was thinking of questions to ask, I realized I still didn't actually know what aerospace engineers do, despite my earlier research and the fact that I'm dedicating my whole life to doing this.

So, this has been very enlightening.

I always assumed it was difficult to find out "exactly" what aerospace engineers do because it's such a broad field, as well as because it must be such a dynamic position. You confirmed some of this, but mostly you surprised me with what the position actually entails, and actually I'm perfectly fine with it... somehow it makes the career seem more real, including the not-so-good things that come with it.

Again, thanks for the responses, I appreciate it. I hope to contribute something worthwhile in these forums with my next post. :)
Glad to help.

As for what an aero-eng does, in my opinion that's the wrong question. The right question is about what we can do. A good aero-eng is basically a bundle of skills and knowledge held together by a glue of problem solving ability and propped up by a passion for aviation .

G

[john_tullamarine]

I guess it's similar in other countries .. in Oz, one can find aero eng folk in a vast range of jobs .. as Genghis infers .. and good to see him back in the fold.

One of the guys of my uni vintage decided aero wasn't his cup of tea .. diverted to medicine and is now a specialist anaesthetist. Many end up in commercial management, especially with a few more relevant letters after the name.