Aerospace Engineer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.
The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.
10% of aerospace engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $86,700
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
25% of aerospace engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $106,110
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Half of aerospace engineers earn more than this and half earn less.
- Annual
- $134,960
- Hourly
- $64.89
- Source
- BLS May 2025
75% of aerospace engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $169,690
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
90% of aerospace engineers earn less than this amount.
- Annual
- $205,890
- Hourly
- n/a
- Source
- BLS May 2025
Aerospace Engineers perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. The median pay is $134,960 a year ($64.89 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).
- Median pay
- $134,960
- BLS May 2025
- Employed in the U.S.
- 67,710
- BLS May 2025
- Preparation
- Job Zone 4 of 5
- considerable preparation
Every page for Aerospace Engineers
What aerospace engineers do day to day
Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).
- Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
- Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
- Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
- Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
- Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
- Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
- Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
- Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
Ranked by importance to the job
Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.
Knowledge areas: Engineering and Technology, Design, Mechanical, Mathematics, Physics, Computers and Electronics.
Software aerospace engineers use
Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.
- Autodesk AutoCADComputer aided design CAD softwareIn demand
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorksComputer aided design CAD softwareIn demand
- The MathWorks MATLABAnalytical or scientific softwareIn demand
- Dassault Systemes CATIAComputer aided design CAD softwareIn demand
- MathWorks SimulinkAnalytical or scientific softwareIn demand
- Extensible markup language XMLEnterprise application integration softwareHot technology
- Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
- 1CadCam UnigraphicsComputer aided manufacturing CAM software
- ANSYS simulation softwareAnalytical or scientific software
- Alstom ESARADAnalytical or scientific software
- Alstom ESATANAnalytical or scientific software
- Altera Quartus IIAnalytical or scientific software
Also called: Aeronautical Engineer, Aerospace Stress Engineer, Avionics Engineer, Design Engineer, Flight Controls Engineer, Flight Systems Test Engineer.
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How this page is built
Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.
- How a specific employer defines the job.
- Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
- Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).