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Is it a good career path for an electronics engineering graduate? It is interesting that the aerospace industries usually offer more entry level jobs than any other private company. Any of you work for aersopace companies like Boeing?
Is it a good career path for an electronics engineering graduate? It is interesting that the aerospace industries usually offer more entry level jobs than any other private company. Any of you work for aersopace companies like Boeing?
I worked for a major aerospace company for several years. I found it to be a fascinating industry, and let's face it - airplanes are neat! I got to work on some of the systems for the new 787 and there was just this sense of awe about being part of something so much bigger than you. There were lots of people that were a little verklempt when we watched that first flight.
Pros:
* Airplanes!! I don't know about you but I love airplanes and it's neat to be able to work around them. My company paid for me to take private pilot ground school.
* Generally great work/life balance
* Good benefits, decent pay
* Career worthy, people stick around for 30+ years
* Lots of very skilled, experienced co-workers - makes for great teams and mentors
* Interesting technical challenges - there's a reason they grow their own, you can't learn about this stuff in school. Lots of systems are critical for the safety of the flight, so being a perfectionist is good quality.
Cons:
* Everything has to eventually get 'certified', which takes a whole lot of time and $$$. This means the technology is practically obsolete before it goes into service. Makes it a challenge to stay relevant with the rest of the technical world.
* You may spend over 50% of your time on paperwork and process. That can make for a pretty boring day and lots of frustration that doing simple things requires so much bureaucracy.
* Make sure you get a good starting package because raises and promotions are rather grudging. You won't be poor, but it's not like the salaries in other industries. This is one of the biggest reasons I left - I got a huge raise to go elsewhere and that only brought me up to industry standard for this area.
* There are a lot of very specialized areas, and it's easy to get stuck in one. Yes, you'll be the 'expert', but there will also be few places for you to go with that skillset. At first it's fun to learn something rarified, but then it becomes a burden because no one else can fill in for you. Some folks like the security, but keep in mind that can change quickly leaving you with 20 years of experience in something completely obsolete.
Overall I would say it was very rewarding, but you need to keep an eye out for yourself and actively manage your career. This is true for any career, but it's particularly easy to stagnate in aerospace. I worked with some really great people and some really interesting systems, and I would recommend it.
I have called on aerospace companies in my career as a salesperson. They are usually stable (unless government contracts are cut), bureaucratic types of companies, but offer a pretty stable career with decent pay. The staff are usually educated and they usually offer good work/life balance.
While there is nothing wrong with a career in aerospace (though they, like nearly all STEM fields are downsizing these days - a lot of people involved in the 787 will soon be unemployed, etc.), you do NOT want a degree in Aerospace engineering.
The reality is that a guy graduating with an aerospace engineering degree took about 90% or more of the same classes as the guy graduating with a mechanical engineering degree, and the two degrees are functionally identical in almost all ways.
The problem is that in our world of automated resume filters and "no thinking or training allowed" corporate culture, the guy with the aerospace degree will suddenly be "unqualified" to work anywhere outside of the aerospace industry because the jobs want "mechanical engineer" not "aerospace engineer." It's idiotic, but that's the way our nation works.
So, if you're interested in that field, get a mechanical engineering degree with a minor in aerospace engineering - or just take a bunch of electives and go on related internships - but do NOT get an aerospace engineering degree unless you want to vastly limit your employment options.
Thank you for you feedback regarding this matter. I've heard great things in aerospace industry. One of it is, the industry is very exciting to work in. Though I am not really into the aerospace matters like the plane's mechanical stuff. I am more into the electrical/electronics part of the aerospace industry.
I have searched openings in several companies and most of the positions require a security clearance. Can a green card holder/permanent resident of the US be a potential candidate for the job? Or does it strictly require to be a US citizen?
I have searched openings in several companies and most of the positions require a security clearance. Can a green card holder/permanent resident of the US be a potential candidate for the job? Or does it strictly require to be a US citizen?
No, a non citizen cannot obtain a Security Clearance. They can be granted access to data via a Limited Access Authorization (LAA), but I think that is usually reserved for specialized experts in a field, not entry level people.
I worked for one of the larger companies, like Boeing, doing software in support of the space program. Tons of programmers, math majors, and engineers creating software. Out of the engineers - it was mostly mechanical and electrical. I'm sure it's different everywhere you go, but in my case, I saw lots of ups and downs. Cyclical layoffs. Reluctance to update to the latest software due to $$$, and for computer professionals this is really bad for your career since software changes rapidly. Just be careful and stay mindful of the direction your career is going (I got that same advice from one of the managers early on). I left because funding for the next program for us was gutted and there were rolling layoffs everywhere from Tx to Florida. Just do your research before you commit, and it may be a good idea to have a plan 'B' depending on where you land a job. For example, if you were working on the shuttle 10 years ago, then you probably aren't working on the shuttle right now. And whatever you did for 10 years may or may not be applicable outside of the space industry - meaning it will be tough to find a new job.
Also at my last job, it felt like 90% paperwork.
If those are things you can handle, then yeah there are some really neat things about working in aerospace. I had co-workers from universities across the US and even overseas. Some of my friends in other departments got to work with international partners like the Russian, Japanese, or Canadian space program representatives.
One thing I was told but never verified - if you become a civil servant working directly for NASA, then you are less likely to get caught up in any layoff mess. Its the contractors who have the target on their backs.
Last edited by DanielWayne; 09-24-2013 at 07:48 AM..
So there's paperwork huh. I really hate it to be honest. That's why I took up an engineering course, thinking that I could somehow avoid paperworks.
People's safety is at stake - every iota of work get scrutinized six ways til sunday, and YES, it all gets documented. The entire product lifecycle from inception til obsolescence, every change, every re-work, every part. All of it. And after something gets documented, someone (or many someone's, and sometimes someone from the FAA and/or the customer) reviews it with a fine tooth comb, and then the next time the product gets changed, you do it again. And it takes someone with product knowledge to do it (that would be you Junior Engineer).
Is it time-consuming? Yep. However wait til you get into a field where nothing is documented, then have to reverse engineer every little darn change, and then tell me how much you hate being able to look up a schematic change (or find just about any technical detail) in 15 minutes, and have the information be readily available and accurate. I admit, I didn't love the paperwork aspect of aerospace either, but what I wouldn't give some days to just be able to look up the answer in the spec like you could there. The documentation at my current gig is a joke - it's old, out-of-date, inaccurate or just plain missing. Nor is it written well when it does exist. While I don't like paperwork to be all-consuming, you need to write some stuff down (accurately), or it leads to confusion and lost time later while everyone tries to reverse engineer their own product to figure out what the heck is going on.
I'll admit, I have yet to see any kind of happy medium when it comes to paperwork.
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