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Aerospace Degree

57 schools compared · Average earnings $73,060/yr

Students study the design, development, and testing of aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missile systems, applying advanced physics and mathematics. Graduates typically pursue careers at NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, and defense contractors, as well as in airline engineering and satellite communications. This is one of the highest-paying engineering specialties, with the growing space industry creating exciting new opportunities.

What Aerospace Graduates Do

Your degree prepares you to design the future of flight and space exploration. As a junior aerospace engineer, your days will be spent using design software to model stress on a new fuselage or running simulations for a satellite's orbital path. You'll analyze data from wind tunnels and test flights, working with large teams to solve complex integration problems. Alternatively, you could take a more hands-on route as an aerospace technician, installing and troubleshooting the intricate avionics in a cockpit or assembling components for a launch vehicle.

With experience, you can advance to a senior role or become an engineering manager, shifting from technical design to leading teams, managing project budgets, and making high-level strategic decisions. While management growth is steady, technician and university teaching roles are expanding more quickly. AI will become a key tool in this field, automating routine calculations and data analysis, which will change your daily work. The job shifts toward creative design, system integration, and validating AI outputs. The hands-on work of technicians, however, remains less affected by automation.

Schools Offering

Avg Grad Earnings

$73,060/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

69/100

AI Automation Risk

High

47% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Aerospace graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 25,800 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Architectural and engineering managers	$167,740 $135K$207K	14,500	+3.8%	41%
Aerospace engineers	$134,830 $105K$174K	4,500	+6.1%	57%
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	$106,120 $80K$136K	4,100	+8.1%	50%
Avionics technicians	$81,390 $65K$99K	1,800	+8.2%	24%
Aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians	$79,830 $65K$102K	900	+8.1%	32%

Architectural and engineering managers

$167,740

$135K $207K

14,500 openings/yr +3.8% growth 41% AI risk

Aerospace engineers

$134,830

$105K $174K

4,500 openings/yr +6.1% growth 57% AI risk

Engineering teachers, postsecondary

$106,120

$80K $136K

4,100 openings/yr +8.1% growth 50% AI risk

Avionics technicians

$81,390

$65K $99K

1,800 openings/yr +8.2% growth 24% AI risk

Aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians

$79,830

$65K $102K

900 openings/yr +8.1% growth 32% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Aerospace

Top 20 of 57 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	77 74–78	$85,509/yr	24.4x
2	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	77 74–77	$78,320/yr	31.6x
3	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	76 73–76	$81,022/yr	20.5x
4	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA	76 73–76	$79,300/yr	20.7x
5	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	76 73–77	$78,631/yr	22.1x
6	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	76 74–76	$70,760/yr	38.3x
7	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	75 72–76	$76,881/yr	19.3x
8	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide Daytona Beach, FL	75 72–75	$75,483/yr	20.0x
9	Iowa State University Ames, IA	75 72–75	$75,036/yr	21.0x
10	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	75 73–76	$74,375/yr	27.2x
11	West Virginia University Institute of Technology Beckley, WV	75 73–76	$72,210/yr	29.0x
12	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	75 73–75	$72,210/yr	24.1x
13	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	75 73–75	$71,989/yr	23.5x
14	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	75 73–75	$70,820/yr	25.5x
15	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	74 71–75	$80,225/yr	15.4x
16	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX	74 71–74	$78,005/yr	18.0x
17	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	74 71–74	$75,859/yr	16.1x
18	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	74 71–74	$73,887/yr	18.7x
19	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	74 72–74	$71,712/yr	19.2x
20	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS	74 72–74	$69,056/yr	22.9x
21	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	74 73–75	$68,002/yr	28.3x
22	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	74 73–75	$66,477/yr	34.4x
23	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	73 71–74	$81,835/yr	14.7x
24	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	73 70–74	$76,856/yr	15.2x
25	Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO	73 70–73	$76,183/yr	15.6x
26	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	73 71–74	$74,524/yr	17.4x
27	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	73 72–74	$67,953/yr	32.3x
28	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	72 69–72	$72,062/yr	16.2x
29	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	72 70–72	$71,633/yr	15.1x
30	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	72 70–73	$71,068/yr	16.7x
31	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI	72 70–72	$69,514/yr	15.5x
32	Auburn University Auburn, AL	72 71–73	$68,607/yr	18.1x
33	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	72 71–73	$67,425/yr	17.0x
34	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	72 70–72	$65,401/yr	16.6x
35	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	71 69–72	$74,992/yr	15.0x
36	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	71 70–72	$69,716/yr	18.4x
37	Wichita State University Wichita, KS	70 70–71	$61,526/yr	21.1x
38	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	70 70–71	$57,456/yr	18.0x
39	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	68 66–69	$77,922/yr	10.1x
40	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	66 65–67	$68,495/yr	11.4x
41	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	63 60–63	$78,980/yr	3.2x
42	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Prescott, AZ	63 61–64	$75,483/yr	4.8x
43	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL	63 61–64	$75,483/yr	4.8x
44	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	62 60–63	$72,607/yr	17.9x
45	Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL	62 60–62	$69,149/yr	4.6x
46	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	61 58–62	$81,057/yr	2.9x
47	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	61 58–61	$75,218/yr	3.2x
48	Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO	60 58–61	$75,122/yr	3.3x
49	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	60 58–60	$73,213/yr	3.0x
50	Clarkson University Potsdam, NY	60 58–60	$71,783/yr	3.1x
51	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	60 57–60	$71,417/yr	2.9x
52	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	60 58–60	$71,244/yr	14.2x
53	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	60 59–61	$68,226/yr	15.7x
54	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH	59 56–60	$83,639/yr	2.5x
55	University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville, AL	59 58–60	$70,383/yr	13.9x
56	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	55 53–55	$69,320/yr	9.1x
57	Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL	53 52–54	$63,169/yr	2.7x

Highest Earning Aerospace Programs

Schools where Aerospace graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	$85,509/yr	77
Case Western Reserve University	$83,639/yr	59
University of Colorado Boulder	$81,835/yr	73
University of Notre Dame	$81,057/yr	61
The University of Texas at Austin	$81,022/yr	76
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	$80,225/yr	74
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus	$79,300/yr	76
University of Southern California	$78,980/yr	63
University of Maryland-College Park	$78,631/yr	76
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	$78,320/yr	77

Best ROI for Aerospace

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Aerospace.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
University of Florida	38.3x	$70,760/yr	76
California State University-Long Beach	34.4x	$66,477/yr	74
University of Central Florida	32.3x	$67,953/yr	73
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	31.6x	$78,320/yr	77
West Virginia University Institute of Technology	29.0x	$72,210/yr	75
New Mexico State University-Main Campus	28.3x	$68,002/yr	74
San Diego State University	27.2x	$74,375/yr	75
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	25.5x	$70,820/yr	75
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	24.4x	$85,509/yr	77
West Virginia University	24.1x	$72,210/yr	75

Want to compare two Aerospace programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Aerospace graduates earn?

Across 57 schools, Aerospace graduates earn an average of $73,060 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $57,456 to $85,509 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Aerospace?

Aerospace is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 47% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Aerospace program?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranks #1 for Aerospace with a score of 77/100 and graduate earnings of $85,509/yr.

What's the outlook for a Aerospace degree?

On average, Aerospace graduates earn 16.4x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a strong return on investment.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →