Industry: Aerospace and Defense
 Aerospace is a specialized field which calls for elite workers. Manufacturers produce spacecraft and aircraft for the commercial sector and military devices such as tanks and missiles for the United States and other militaries.
Recently aerospace has seen growth in investment for defense spending. Some of the biggest companies in aerospace and defense include Boeing, Airbus, General Electric, Raytheon, NASA and Lockheed Martin. Boeing and Europe’s Airbus manufacture aircrafts, while GE and Raytheon manufacture specific aircraft parts. Airbus has experienced a steady development and growth and is on its way to be more prominent in the aerospace industry than Boeing, the number one company. Aerospace firms have contracts with NASA and the U.S. Government focused on defense and space exploration. Boeing is the primary contractor for NASA’s space exploration, while Lockheed Martin specializes in missile production.
Individuals in aerospace and defense positions generally work on highly technical projects that are on the cutting edge of technology. Positions in the aerospace industry include working on projects first by solving planning and theoretical issues followed by production problems. If you are a problem solver, able to pay close attention to detail, and are fascinated by working on technology for the future, aerospace and defense is for you.
As funding for defense increases and commitment from the government is secured, aerospace employees are most likely to be working in the defense sector of the aerospace industry. The government has increased its awareness for the need of aerospace defense and, consequently, more positions within the field have been created. Individuals working in the defense field are innovative in their defense strategy thinking because the traditional method for fighting wars is in the past, and country leverage is based off of accumulation of unique defense weapons.
If you are not interested in following the defense route in aerospace, military aircraft production, commercial airlines, surface and below level ship manufacturing and design, NASA’s innovation team, satellites, or technology advances for communication may be the path for you. As the world becomes more globally connected the need for accurate world-wide technology is rapidly growing and becoming a necessity. Recent layoffs have occurred in the main aerospace companies causing aerospace professionals to be concerned, but there is some amount of job security based off of the contract for the project. Jobs in the aerospace industry are exciting, forward thinking, and stable if you are working on a long term project. One of the goals of aerospace professionals is to make their technological advances more applicable to the general public. However, the secrecy of ‘top secret’ projects is what attracts many thrill seeking engineer-type individuals to the aerospace industry.
The aerospace industry is also highly focused in commercial, business, and private flights. Whether aerospace employees manufacture the airplane parts, contribute to the airline production, or even work at airports, no matter what the position, the stability of the position depends on many factors such as, airline ticket purchase, terrorist threats, the economic stability, and consumer spending.
Whether you are focused in defense, innovation, or commercial aerospace, positions in the aerospace industry can be daunting, but they offer a priceless reward of contributing to pushing the boundaries of our presence in the atmosphere. Involvement in technical innovations, protecting our country, or working with the traveling public, aerospace employees are apart of an elite community working towards a better future.
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