Why should I become an Aerospace Engineer?

It took thousands of years before technology was sophisticated enough to develop a successful powered aircraft. Yet less than a century later, aircraft fly many times faster than the speed of sound, and spacecraft travel to other planets in the solar system, and beyond. We have come a long way since that windy day at Kitty Hawk. Much of this could have taken place within your lifetime, but more than likely you are on the threshold of even more exciting endeavors. You will see things like an earth orbiting space station, colonization of the Moon or Mars, space-based solar power stations, an active search for extraterrestrial life, and the capability to travel to any point on earth in only a couple of hours. Thanks to aerospace engineering, all of this can happen within your lifetime.

When powered flight began, it was a highly dangerous endeavor for the courageous and farsighted. In less than a century, it has grown into one of the most complex, exacting, and advanced known technologies. An amazing array of equipment and accomplishments followed those first flights, each new advance building on a foundation of previous research, development, testing, and operational experience. The past few decades have seen the aerospace industry and its supporting sciences and technologies expand beyond the Earth’s thin atmosphere to embrace manned and unmanned travel through space to the moon and planets. Plans for the colonization of space are well underway, and you could be a major factor in this development. Aerospace technology has also expanded to involve itself with the design and development of new earthbound vehicles, such as performance automobiles, hydrofoil ships, deep-diving vessels for oceanographic research, and high-speed rail-type systems.

Aerospace engineering and technology are probably the most specialized and yet the most diversified fields there are. Products and spin-offs from aerospace projects are now used in many household items, including Teflon, Velcro, and freeze-dried foods. Aerospace professionals may apply their knowledge to build better aircraft, send a spacecraft to Mars, or design a satellite used in predicting the weather. Yet these same aerospace professionals may use their knowledge to study how the wind will affect a new building in a large urban area, design an energy-conserving skyscraper, or research an artificial heart.

The future of aerospace is as exciting and challenging as its history. It will continue to offer rewarding careers with opportunities for advancement and original contributions to engineering and science.