Salary of an aircraft engineer: Page Not Found | Glassdoor

Aircraft Engineer Salary (November 2022) – Zippia

Updated August 22, 2022

$72,867yearly

To create our salary estimates, Zippia starts with data published in publicly available sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Foreign Labor Certification Data Center (FLC) Show More

$35.03 hourly

Entry level Salary

$53,000

yearly

$53,000

10 %

$72,867

Median

$99,000

90 %

How much does an Aircraft Engineer make?

Aircraft engineers make $72,867 per year on average, or $35.03 per hour, in the United States. Aircraft engineers on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $53,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $99,000.

Location impacts how much an aircraft engineer can expect to make. Aircraft engineers make the most in California, Arizona, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Washington.

Highest Paying State

California

Highest Paying City

San Francisco, CA

Highest Paying Company

Joby Aviation

What Am I Worth?

Highest Paying State

California

Highest Paying City

San Francisco, CA

Highest Paying Company

Joby Aviation

What Am I Worth?

Highest Paying States For Aircraft Engineers

The darker areas on the map show where aircraft engineers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

• State View
• County View

Average Salary:

Aircraft Engineer average salary by State

Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	Arizona	$93,713	$45.05	241
2	California	$94,358	$45.36	1,632
3	Washington	$84,917	$40. 83	398
4	Nebraska	$86,205	$41.44	65
5	Nevada	$82,765	$39.79	85
6	District of Columbia	$89,599	$43.08	187
7	Wyoming	$78,443	$37.71	22
8	New Mexico	$81,575	$39.22	57
9	Delaware	$78,602	$37.79	67
10	Rhode Island	$85,341	$41.03	23
11	Texas	$77,806	$37.41	889
12	Maryland	$82,209	$39.52	438
13	Colorado	$79,855	$38.39	268
14	Idaho	$82,246	$39.54	31
15	Michigan	$76,791	$36.92	219
16	Alabama	$74,852	$35. 99	191
17	Virginia	$77,276	$37.15	715
18	Montana	$78,669	$37.82	24
19	Oregon	$75,650	$36.37	191
20	Utah	$73,249	$35.22	146
21	Massachusetts	$76,645	$36.85	318
22	Arkansas	$75,300	$36.20	50
23	Alaska	$73,621	$35.39	42
24	North Dakota	$74,304	$35.72	18
25	South Dakota	$74,491	$35.81	20
26	Hawaii	$78,497	$37.74	31
27	Illinois	$75,145	$36.13	299
28	Minnesota	$74,718	$35.92	161
29	Ohio	$72,892	$35. 04	244
30	Vermont	$72,898	$35.05	23
31	New Jersey	$75,887	$36.48	158
32	Oklahoma	$71,098	$34.18	60
33	Georgia	$70,118	$33.71	328
34	Kansas	$69,661	$33.49	78
35	Pennsylvania	$71,076	$34.17	195
36	Wisconsin	$70,868	$34.07	97
37	South Carolina	$68,615	$32.99	114
38	New York	$69,130	$33.24	409
39	New Hampshire	$69,627	$33.47	40
40	Missouri	$70,020	$33.66	98
41	Tennessee	$68,904	$33.13	73
42	Indiana	$66,328	$31. 89	153
43	Florida	$65,508	$31.49	554
44	Connecticut	$68,274	$32.82	88
45	North Carolina	$66,896	$32.16	268
46	West Virginia	$66,070	$31.76	19
47	Mississippi	$65,742	$31.61	41
48	Maine	$68,181	$32.78	18
49	Louisiana	$60,051	$28.87	91
50	Kentucky	$63,144	$30.36	64
51	Iowa	$62,570	$30.08	51

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Top Aircraft Engineer Jobs Near You

Highest Paying Cities For Aircraft Engineers

Rank	City	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$99,398	$47.79
2	Kirkland, WA	$85,449	$41.08
3	Las Vegas, NV	$82,459	$39.64
4	Englewood, CO	$79,853	$38.39
5	San Antonio, TX	$79,003	$37.98
6	Little Rock, AR	$75,273	$36.19
7	Mobile, AL	$75,255	$36.18
8	Lombard, IL	$75,219	$36.16
9	New York, NY	$69,329	$33.33
10	Savannah, GA	$68,912	$33.13
11	New Albany, IN	$66,226	$31.84
12	Miami, FL	$61,414	$29.53
13	Lake Charles, LA	$61,250	$29.45

Aircraft Engineer Salary Details

Average Aircraft Engineer Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is an Aircraft Engineer’s Salary?

Average Salary By Related Titles

Job Title	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
Stress Analyst	$85,194	$7,100	$40. 96	8,437
Engineering Scientist	$90,138	$7,511	$43.34	97,496
Propulsion Engineer	$98,475	$8,206	$47.34	45,629
Structural Analysis Engineer	$98,208	$8,184	$47.22	26,462
Flight Test Engineer	$90,538	$7,545	$43.53	26,384
Avionics Systems Engineer	$99,014	$8,251	$47.60	80,025

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

1. United Jobs (2)
2. Dassault Falcon Jet Jobs (6)
3. General Electric Jobs (3)
4. MEC Jobs (7)
5. *n/a* Jobs (23)

Which Companies Pay Aircraft Engineers The Most?

The highest paying companies for aircraft engineers are Joby Aviation and VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering, Inc. according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, companies like Astronics and Global Eagle Entertainment report highly competitive wages for aircraft engineers.

How Much Do Aircraft Engineers Make In Different Industries?

Here are some examples of how much an aircraft engineer salaries can based on different industries:

1. The transportation industry pays aircraft engineers an average salary of $77,998

2. The professional industry pay $77,118

3. The lowest paying industry for aircraft engineers is the technology industry. Aircraft engineers in this industry earn an average salary of $74,590

Highest Paying Industries For Aircraft Engineers

High Paying Aircraft Engineer Jobs

Aircraft Engineer Salary Trends

The salary for an aircraft engineer can vary depending on the years of experience that a person has, from entry level to senior level. Data on how experience level affects total compensation is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Entry LevelAvg.salary$48k

Senior LevelAvg.salary$105k

Aircraft Engineer Salary By Experience Level

Average Aircraft Engineer Salary Over Time

Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Recently Added Aircraft Engineer Salaries

Aircraft Engineer Salaries FAQs

What State Pays Aircraft Engineers The Most?

California pays Aircraft Engineers the most in the United States, with an average salary of $94,358 per year, or $45. 36 per hour.

How Do I Know If I’m Being Paid Fairly As An Aircraft Engineer?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an Aircraft Engineer if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in Arizona you should be paid close to $93,713 per year.

What Type Of Aircraft Engineer Gets Paid The Most?

Master Lay Out Specialist gets paid the most. Master Lay Out Specialist made a median salary of $127,619. The best-paid 10 percent make $145,000, while the lowest-paid 10 percent make $112,000.

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

Search For Aircraft Engineer Jobs

Updated August 22, 2022

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

PRINTER-FRIENDLY

• Summary
• What They Do
• Work Environment
• How to Become One
• Pay
• Job Outlook
• State & Area Data
• Similar Occupations
• More Info

Summary

Please enable javascript to play this video.

Video transcript available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnxcib-8S4s.

What Aerospace Engineers Do

Aerospace engineers design primarily aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles.

Work Environment

Aerospace engineers are employed in industries whose workers design or build aircraft, missiles, systems for national defense, or spacecraft. Aerospace engineers are employed primarily in manufacturing, analysis and design, research and development, and the federal government. 

How to Become an Aerospace Engineer

Aerospace engineers must have a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or another field of engineering or science related to aerospace systems. Aerospace engineers who work on projects that are related to national defense may need a security clearance.

Pay

The median annual wage for aerospace engineers was $122,270 in May 2021.

Job Outlook

Employment of aerospace engineers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2021 to 2031, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 3,800 openings for aerospace engineers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

State & Area Data

Explore resources for employment and wages by state and area for aerospace engineers.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of aerospace engineers with similar occupations.

More Information, Including Links to O*NET

Learn more about aerospace engineers by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

Aerospace engineers evaluate designs to see that the products meet engineering principles.

Aerospace engineers design primarily aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. In addition, they create and test prototypes to make sure that they function according to design.

Duties

Aerospace engineers typically do the following:

• Direct and coordinate the design, manufacture, and testing of aircraft and aerospace products
• Assess proposals for projects to determine if they are technically and financially feasible
• Determine if proposed projects will result in safe operations that meet the defined goals
• Evaluate designs to see that the products meet engineering principles, customer requirements, and environmental regulations
• Develop acceptance criteria for design methods, quality standards, sustainment after delivery, and completion dates
• Ensure that projects meet quality standards
• Inspect malfunctioning or damaged products to identify sources of problems and possible solutions

Aerospace engineers may develop new technologies for use in aviation, defense systems, and spacecraft. They often specialize in areas such as aerodynamic fluid flow; structural design; guidance, navigation, and control; instrumentation and communication; robotics; and propulsion and combustion.

Aerospace engineers can specialize in designing different types of aerospace products, such as commercial and military airplanes and helicopters; remotely piloted aircraft and rotorcraft; spacecraft, including launch vehicles and satellites; and military missiles and rockets.

Aerospace engineers often become experts in one or more related fields: aerodynamics, thermodynamics, materials, celestial mechanics, flight mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, and guidance and control systems.

Aerospace engineers typically specialize in one of two types of engineering: aeronautical or astronautical.

Aeronautical engineers work with aircraft. They are involved primarily in designing aircraft and propulsion systems and in studying the aerodynamic performance of aircraft and construction materials. They work with the theory, technology, and practice of flight within the Earth’s atmosphere.

Astronautical engineers work with the science and technology of spacecraft and how they perform inside and outside the Earth’s atmosphere. This includes work on small satellites such as cubesats, and traditional large satellites.  

Aeronautical and astronautical engineers face different environmental and operational issues in designing aircraft and spacecraft. However, the two fields overlap a great deal because they both depend on the basic principles of physics.

Aerospace engineers work in industries that build aircraft and often help oversee construction.

Aerospace engineers held about 58,800 jobs in 2021. The largest employers of aerospace engineers were as follows:

Aerospace engineers are employed in industries in which workers design or build aircraft, missiles, systems for national defense, or spacecraft. They work primarily for firms that engage in manufacturing, analysis and design, research and development, and for the federal government.

Aerospace engineers now spend more of their time in an office environment than they have in the past, because modern aircraft design requires the use of sophisticated computer equipment and software design tools, modeling, and simulations for tests, evaluation, and training.

Aerospace engineers work with other professionals involved in designing and building aircraft, spacecraft, and their components. Therefore, they must be able to communicate well, divide work into manageable tasks, and work with others toward a common goal.

Work Schedules

Aerospace engineers typically work full time. Engineers who direct projects must often work extra hours to monitor progress, to ensure that designs meet requirements, to determine how to measure aircraft performance, to see that production meets design standards, to participate in test flights and first flights, and to ensure that deadlines are met.

How to Become an Aerospace Engineer About this section

Aerospace engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work.

Aerospace engineers must have a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or another field of engineering or science related to aerospace systems. Aerospace engineers who work on projects that are related to national defense may need a security clearance. U.S. citizenship may be required for certain types and levels of clearances.

Education

Aerospace engineers typically need a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field. High school students interested in studying aerospace engineering should take courses in chemistry, physics, advanced math, and computer programming and computer languages.

Bachelor’s degree programs include classroom, laboratory, and field studies in subjects such as general engineering principles, propulsion, stability and control, structures, mechanics, and aerodynamics, which is the study of how air interacts with moving objects.

Some colleges and universities offer cooperative programs in partnership with regional businesses, which give students practical experience while they complete their education. Cooperative programs and internships enable students to gain valuable experience and to finance part of their education.

At some universities, a student can enroll in a 5-year program that leads to both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree upon completion. A graduate degree will allow an engineer to work as an instructor at a university or to do research and development. Programs in aerospace engineering are accredited by ABET.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Aerospace engineers must be able to identify design elements that may not meet requirements and then must formulate alternatives to improve the performance of those elements.

Business skills. Much of the work done by aerospace engineers involves meeting federal government standards. Meeting these standards often requires knowledge of standard business practices, as well as knowledge of commercial law. Additionally, project management or systems engineering skills can be useful.

Critical-thinking skills. Aerospace engineers must be able to produce designs that meet governmental standards, and to figure out why a particular design does not work. They must be able to ask the right question, then find an acceptable answer.

Math skills. Aerospace engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work.

Problem-solving skills. Aerospace engineers use their education and experience to upgrade designs and troubleshoot problems when meeting new demands for aircraft, such as increased fuel efficiency or improved safety.

Writing skills. Aerospace engineers must be able both to write papers that explain their designs clearly and to create documentation for future reference.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Licensure for aerospace engineers is not as common as it is for other engineering occupations, nor it is required for entry-level positions. A Professional Engineering (PE) license, which allows for higher levels of leadership and independence, can be acquired later in one’s career. Licensed engineers are called professional engineers (PEs). A PE can oversee the work of other engineers, sign off on projects, and provide services directly to the public. State licensure generally requires

• A degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program
• A passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam
• Relevant work experience, typically at least 4 years
• A passing score on the Professional Engineering (PE) exam.

The initial FE exam can be taken after earning a bachelor’s degree. Engineers who pass this exam are commonly called engineers in training (EITs) or engineer interns (EIs). After meeting work experience requirements, EITs and EIs can take the second exam, called the Principles and Practice of Engineering.

Each state issues its own licenses. Most states recognize licensure from other states, as long as the licensing state’s requirements meet or exceed their own licensure requirements. Several states require continuing education for engineers to keep their licenses.

Advancement

Eventually, aerospace engineers may advance to become technical specialists or to supervise a team of engineers and technicians. Some may even become engineering managers or move into executive positions, such as program managers.

Aerospace Engineers

Median annual wages, May 2021

Aerospace engineers

$122,270

Engineers

$99,040

Total, all occupations

$45,760

 

The median annual wage for aerospace engineers was $122,270 in May 2021.
The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $77,440, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $168,370.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for aerospace engineers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Aerospace engineers typically work full time. Engineers who direct projects must often work extra hours to monitor progress, to ensure that designs meet requirements, to determine how to measure aircraft performance, to see that production meets design standards, and to ensure that deadlines are met.

Aerospace Engineers

Percent change in employment, projected 2021-31

Aerospace engineers

Engineers

Total, all occupations

 

Employment of aerospace engineers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2021 to 2031, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 3,800 openings for aerospace engineers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

Aircraft are being redesigned for less noise pollution and better fuel efficiency, particularly with the introduction of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, which should help sustain demand for aerospace engineers.

Technological advancements have reduced the cost of launching satellites. As space becomes more accessible, especially with developments in small satellites that have greater commercial viability, demand for aerospace engineers is expected to increase. In addition, continued interest in drones will help to drive employment growth for these engineers.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link(s) below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area.

• Aerospace engineers

Projections Central

Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.com. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved.

CareerOneStop

CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of aerospace engineers.

For more information about general engineering education and career resources, visit

American Society for Engineering Education

Technology Student Association

For more information about licensure as an aerospace engineer, visit

National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying

National Society of Professional Engineers

For more information about accredited engineering programs, visit

ABET

For more information about current developments in aeronautics, visit

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

For more information about engineering summer camps, visit

Engineering Education Service Center

CareerOneStop

For a career video on aerospace engineers, visit

Aerospace Engineers

O*NET

Aerospace Engineers

Suggested citation:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Aerospace Engineers,

at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/aerospace-engineers.htm (visited November 01, 2022).

Last Modified Date:
Thursday, September 8, 2022

What is the salary of an aeronautical engineer in the world?

Aeronautical engineers are respected all over the world because of the nature of their work. However, many scientists want to know what is the salary of an aeronautical engineer around the world. In this article, we

Aeronautical engineers are aerospace engineers who work on aircraft and rocket systems that only operate in the planet’s atmosphere.

Applicants usually require a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or a related field before finding a job. .

Since the average annual salary in aerospace engineering varies from country to country, it is important to compare salaries in the countries you plan to work in to determine if they meet your needs. Take a look at the average annual salary of aerospace engineers around the world. According to ERI: