Is Aerospace Engineering mostly contract jobs?

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SUMMARY

Aerospace engineering often involves contract-based employment, leading to fluctuations in job security. Large companies typically manage workforce stability by transitioning permanent employees between projects, while contractors are utilized for short-term needs without long-term job expectations. In contrast, small companies may face higher risks of layoffs due to reliance on a limited number of contracts. Aspiring aerospace engineers should consider these employment dynamics when planning their careers.

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Aerospace engineering students, industry professionals, and anyone interested in understanding job security dynamics within the aerospace sector.

Goopy17
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Do you basically work for a company when they get a big contract and when it is done, do you get laid off? I want to become an aerospace engineer, but I want to have a steady job to support a family. Is it work when there are contracts, and then you are out of work when they are done, or is it you have a steady job with or without contracts?
Thanks!
 
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Obviously no employer will keep paying people "for ever" if there is no work for them to do, but if you work for a big company, the people that they want to keep for the long term will move from project to project within the company.

The short term fluctuations in work tend to be covered by contractors rather than hiring and firing permanent employees. It's cheaper to deal with contractors that way, and they don't expect to have long term job security (if they wanted that, they wouldn't be contractors!)

If you work for a small company where one contract is a significant part of the total workload, the risk of being laid off when the work dries up is obviously greater.
 

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