Are there Non-Defense Aerospace Job Opportunities for Aerospace Engineers?

[Aerospace]

Hi,

I am an undergrad Aerospace engineering student, and I am going to start my junior year this Spring. I'm really interested in what I'm studying, but the job market for Aerospace engineers is predominantly federal. Does anyone know of, or can think of, or work for a company that is in need of aerospace engineers but is not defense related? I'm considering but am very if-fy about military jobs.

I really need the boost, guys, because I am considering changing my major to Mechanical.

Thanks!
Aerospace

 

[Lord Flasheart]

Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites runs a civilian aerospace firm out in the Mojave, and he just recently won the X-Prize.

I am unsure if he is hiring, but it might do you well to take a look into it. In fact, I think most of the former X-Prize competitors are worth looking into: Non-military, innovative in design, and certainly worth a major in aerospace engineering.

Cheerio, and good luck with college!

 

[cronxeh]

AE and ME is practically the same afaik. I am in the process of changing my major from ChemE to ME(w/ Aerospace concentration) and there are only 3 extra courses you take for AE concentration compared with just Mechanical. I think you would need a graduate degree to work on some interesting non-military projects

 

[Astronuc]

Try these resources. All offer employment on commercial and/or private aviation.

http://www.bombardier.com (Canada)

http://www.embraer.com (Brazil)

http://www.gulfstream.com/ (Subsidiary of General Dynamics, US)

http://www.boeing.com (Commercial Aircraft Division, US)

http://www.airbus.com/dynamic/media/index.asp (Europe)

http://www.raytheonaircraft.com/home.asp (Wichita, KS - Hawker, Beechcraft)

http://www.cessna.com/ (http://cessnajobs.com/positions.chtml) (Whichita, KS)

See also - www.aviationnow.com[/URL] - but details may require registration or subscription.

 

[brewnog]

How about Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and General Electric? People forget that the whole aerospace thing is just as much about aircraft engines as the aircraft themselves.

Also, I wouldn't worry about switching to Mech, most jobs (at least in the UK) don't differentiate between the disciplines because they're so similar.

 

[Clausius2]

How about Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and General Electric? People forget that the whole aerospace thing is just as much about aircraft engines as the aircraft themselves.

Also, I wouldn't worry about switching to Mech, most jobs (at least in the UK) don't differentiate between the disciplines because they're so similar.

Nobody knows nothing about E.A.D.S.?

 

[brewnog]

Yeah but it's pretty heavily defence orientated isn't it?

 

[russ_watters]

This depends a little on the strength of your conviction: while there are plenty of jobs in aerospace that have little to do with defense, there are not many companies that do. You could work for Boeing building 777s, but you can be sure that the technology used there will go into the next big bomber.

Rolls Royce builds airliner engines, but the same engines power military aircraft (and ships).

 

[Clausius2]

Yeah but it's pretty heavily defence orientated isn't it?

I recommend to visit this site: www.eads.com

E.A.D.S is the european consorce of aeronautics (European Aeronautics and Defence Systems) . They have a major role in Space (Ariane Project, Galileo), Civil Aviation (Airbus), and defence (Eurofighter and Eurocopter). But they don't work only in defence. I am 10 km. near a EADS-CASA (the spanish version of the consorce) factory. They design and built some parts of the Ariane (the adapter), and collaborate with the structural design of the Airbus. Also they product some military large transport aircrafts (C-Series and Hercules), and assemble Eurofighter pieces.

The majority of the engineers working at there, are Aeronautical or Industrial (Mechanical, Electrical or Electronic) engineers.

 

[Astronuc]

Actually Airbus is a division of EADS, and then there is EADS aerospace group: ASTRIUM Satellites, Space Transportation (Ariane and ATV) and Space Services.

http://www.arianespace.com/site/index2.html

Actually, brewnog raised a good point - the jet engine manufacturers are wholly separate from the aircraft manufacturers.

Besides GE, Pratt & Whitney (subsidiary of http://www.utc.com/), and Rolls Royce, there is also http://www.snecma.com/en/group/index.php .

Snecma to supply wheels and brakes for Boeing 7E7 Dreamliner - "Boeing has chosen Messier-Bugatti, a Snecma group subsidiary, to develop the wheels and brakes for its new commercial airplane, the 7E7 Dreamliner. The contract covers the design, manufacture, delivery and support of wheels, brakes and control units."

These companies not sell jet engines to the aircraft manufacturers, but the same turbines are used for many other power applications. So majoring in mechanical/aerospace with emphasis on propulsion systems and turbomachinery would provide for a wide range of opportunity.

 

[Astronuc]

Boeing gets 35 new orders for its 787 Dreamliner

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/08/business/boeing.php

SEATTLE: Boeing announced 35 new orders for its 787 Dreamliner on the eve of its presentation Sunday of the new commercial jet.

Air Berlin ordered 25 and ALAFCO, the aviation lease and finance company of Kuwait, was taking 10, Boeing said Saturday. Together, the orders are valued at $5.62 billion at list prices, although customers typically negotiate discounts.

The midsize 787, seating between 210 to 330 passengers, will be the world's first commercial jetliner made mostly of carbon-fiber composites, which are lighter and sturdier than aluminum. Boeing has said that this and other technological advances will make the 787 more fuel-efficient and cheaper to maintain.

"It means more frequency, more point-to-point routes and fewer changes at big hub airports," Richard Aboulafia, at Teal Group, an aerospace consulting firm, said. "Anyone who changes planes regularly at Heathrow, Narita or Frankfurt can be grateful."

Boeing now has orders for 677 of the new 787s from 47 customers. The first flight of the new plane is scheduled for later this year, with the first delivery to a customer, All Nippon Airways of Japan, in May 2008.

. . . .

I look forward to flying in one of these aircraft.