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Academic Field / Engineering

Aerospace Engineering

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.

Schools
57
Programs analyzed
Earnings
$73,060
Avg 1-yr grad earnings
Range $57,456–$85,509
AI Risk
High
47% task exposure
Field Overview

What Aerospace Engineering 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.

You may also want to evaluate Aerospace Engineering against Mechanical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering on salary and long-run job outlook.

Career Trajectories

Where Aerospace Engineering graduates work

Common career paths for Aerospace Engineering graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 25,800 combined openings per year across these roles.

Role Median Pay Annual Openings 10-yr Growth AI Exposure
Architectural and engineering managers
$167,740
$135K–$207K
14,500 +3.8% Moderate · 41%
Aerospace engineers
$134,830
$105K–$174K
4,500 +6.1% High · 57%
Engineering teachers, postsecondary
$106,120
$80K–$136K
4,100 +8.1% High · 50%
Avionics technicians
$81,390
$65K–$99K
1,800 +8.2% Low · 24%
Aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians
$79,830
$65K–$102K
900 +8.1% Moderate · 32%
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Top Institutions

Best schools for Aerospace Engineering

Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 57.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 77
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public
$85,509 1-yr earnings
24.4x ROI multiple
High AI risk
# School DW Score 1-yr Earnings ROI
5 University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public
76 $78,631 22.1x
6 University of Florida
Gainesville, FL · Public
76 $70,760 38.3x
7 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
75 $76,881 19.3x
8 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide
Daytona Beach, FL · Private nonprofit
75 $75,483 20.0x
9 Iowa State University
Ames, IA · Public
75 $75,036 21.0x
10 San Diego State University
San Diego, CA · Public
75 $74,375 27.2x
11 West Virginia University Institute of Technology
Beckley, WV · Public
75 $72,210 29.0x
12 West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV · Public
75 $72,210 24.1x
13 Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public
75 $71,989 23.5x
14 North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC · Public
75 $70,820 25.5x
15 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public
74 $80,225 15.4x
16 The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX · Public
74 $78,005 18.0x
17 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public
74 $75,859 16.1x
18 The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL · Public
74 $73,887 18.7x
19 Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ · Public
74 $71,712 19.2x
20 Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS · Public
74 $69,056 22.9x
Browse all 57 Aerospace Engineering programs ranked by graduate outcomes →

Aerospace Engineering vs Other Majors

See how Aerospace Engineering compares to similar fields on earnings, AI risk, and career paths.

Related majors

Similar fields of study often offered alongside Aerospace Engineering.

FAQ

Frequently asked about Aerospace Engineering

What's the typical salary after a Aerospace Engineering degree?

First-year earnings for Aerospace Engineering graduates average $73,060 annually, based on data from 57 programs. The range spans $57,456 at the low end to $85,509 at the top.

What is the AI automation risk for Aerospace Engineering?

Our analysis classifies Aerospace Engineering as "High" for AI risk — approximately 47% of typical job tasks overlap with current AI capabilities. That puts some of the daily work in the automation-sensitive category.

What's the top-ranked school for Aerospace Engineering?

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo leads all 57 programs with a DegreeOutlook Score of 77/100. Graduates earn $85,509/yr — the ranking weighs earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size equally.

What's the outlook for a Aerospace Engineering degree?

The average 10-year earnings multiple is 16.4x tuition. This is a strong return on investment. The spread between the best and worst programs is wide, so individual school selection has a major impact.