Options with your subject: Aerospace engineering

Whether you enjoy solving technical challenges or being creative and innovative, aerospace engineering opens up roles in a range of industries from aerospace, automotive and low carbon to finance and IT…

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Aeronautical engineer
• Maintenance engineer
• Manufacturing systems engineer
• Materials engineer

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Automotive engineer
• Control and instrumentation engineer
• Manufacturing engineer
• Production manager
• Quality manager
• Structural engineer
• Technical sales engineer

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. To find out what jobs would suit you, log in to My Prospects.

Work experience

Employers value experience gained through industrial placements, summer placements or voluntary work. Industrial placements as part of your course can lead to openings within the company as employers see this as an opportunity to identify potential recruits, while also adding valuable experience to your CV. If industrial placements are not part of your course, seeking out summer placements is an option not only within the UK but across the EU (particularly if you speak another language).

Work experience in any kind of roles within manufacturing, maintenance or related settings, whether in the office, factory shop floor or laboratory, will help you to gain knowledge of the whole production process or develop skills such as designing, research or working in a team. Joining relevant societies while at university also demonstrates your interest.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

The UK aerospace sector is well established and dominated by large multinationals that produce many diverse products and have locations across the world. Manufacturing 'hubs' are in the South West, North West, Midlands, Northern Ireland, Wales and the South East.

Apart from aircraft manufacturers, opportunities exist with regulators such as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the armed forces, government research agencies, airline companies, space programmes and suppliers of raw materials and parts to manufacturers.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) offer substantial job roles from engineering to commercial and managerial roles within sales, finance and IT. At present, there are 780 UK companies in this sector.

Find information on employers in engineering and manufacturing, armed forces and emergency services, and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

As well as developing a specialism in areas ranging from aerodynamics, stress engineering, materials and structures to sustainable aircraft design, an aerospace degree allows you to obtain a diverse range of skills including the ability to:

• work effectively in multinational teams;
• use creativity to establish innovative solutions;
• mange the design process and evaluate outcomes;
• develop economically viable, ethnically sound and sustainable solutions
• be numerate, computer literate and capable of attention to detail;
• effectively communicate, work in teams and exercise responsibility;
• demonstrate leadership and project management skills;
• meet changing customer needs.

Further study

Students can complete an MEng involving an integrated additional year of study or undertake a separate Masters qualification after BEng level in a specialist subject field. Research through an MRes, MPhil or PhD is also possible.

As a new graduate employee, you may be working towards Incorporated or Chartered status through the Engineering Council  to achieve professional standards and you can be involved in further work-related education and training.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see postgraduate study in the UK and search courses and research.

What do aerospace engineering graduates do?

More than half of aerospace engineering graduates are working in professional engineering roles six months after graduation.

Nearly a fifth of graduates go on to full-time further study. A postgraduate degree is not essential but can be of advantage as the sector is competitive and specialist knowledge is valued. Some companies specify a Masters degree as the minimum entry requirement.

Find out what other engineering graduates are doing six months after finishing their degrees in What Do Graduates Do?  

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

AGCAS

Written by Ayesha Peeran, Cranfield University

Date: 

July 2012

© Copyright AGCAS & Graduate Prospects Ltd | Disclaimer