There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an aircraft design engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $49.26 an hour? That's $102,461 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 1,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does an Aircraft Design Engineer Do

There are certain skills that many aircraft design engineers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, business skills and writing skills.

How To Become an Aircraft Design Engineer

If you're interested in becoming an aircraft design engineer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 80.7% of aircraft design engineers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.0% of aircraft design engineers have master's degrees. Even though most aircraft design engineers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Aircraft Design Engineer Career Paths

Top Careers Before Aircraft Design Engineer

Average Salary for an Aircraft Design Engineer

Aircraft Design Engineers in America make an average salary of $102,461 per year or $49 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $136,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $76,000 per year.
Average Aircraft Design Engineer Salary
$102,461 Yearly
$49.26 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Aircraft Design Engineer

There are several types of aircraft design engineer, including:

Engineer

Role:

Engineers design and develop new products in a variety of different industries. They might be mechanical or software engineers or create electric machinery, design chemical or geotechnical processes, or help to structure civil or management disciplines. Whatever the case may be, engineers are involved in creating the diverse technologies that facilitate the processes of our lives in different areas. Combining creative thinking with the principles of mathematics and science using a wide range of technical skills, engineers work on the design, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance of various products from machines, vehicles, buildings, and roads to software or social processes serving consumers, businesses, and societies.

Engineers are creative thinkers and brilliant problem solvers. They excel at mathematical, scientific, and mechanical analysis. They follow plans and blueprints with a strong focus, yet remain flexible and work well under pressure.

Engineers develop systems for solving various problems as members of a team. They know that a single component is worthless without their counterparts, so they have to be great communicators, as well, to be successful at their job.
  • Average Salary: $92,077
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Design Engineer

Role:

Do you love technical work and want to pursue your creative side at the same time? Maybe now's the time to take your sketch pads out of your shoebox and see those designs come to life. If you feel excited, guess you're on track to being a design engineer in the future.

A design engineer sounds fun, if you love research and innovation. I mean, who wouldn't want to see their discoveries and projects come alive, right? Recognition is another thing, but self-accomplishment matters the most. Apart from that, design engineers build their careers around traveling (no, not a vacation, though), interacting with people, and more... more technical duties. They are computer-savvy humans who would throw a fit over a system crash and computer virus (Like, who doesn't?). Their schedules are, well, usually messed-up. They work like regular employees during weekdays but could go over weekends and holidays as their job requires. So if you're planning to have a coffee date with a design engineer, just don't expect too much as they may meet a client in that coffee shop, too.

Generally, this job sounds fun, regardless of the pile of work and deadlines that have to be done. If you're someone who's always up for new things and discoveries, this might be the sign you're waiting for.
  • Average Salary: $77,134
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Mechanical Design Engineer

Role:

A mechanical design engineer is a professional who designs and develops mechanical systems and devices. They also build prototypes for testing and functionality measurement. Mechanical design engineers collaborate with other engineers to do their job, as well as with fabrication teams tasked with manufacturing products.

Mechanical design engineers use complex mathematics and science to assist them in their work. They might also use elements of various kinds of engineering to work on certain projects. A mechanical design engineer may work on many different types of mechanical projects, such as ones involving engines for automobiles, planes, or aerospace. They most often work for private companies, but also may be employed by specific government agencies.

Mechanical design engineers need a variety of skills to properly perform their jobs. Some of these include analytical, communication, problem-solving, attention to detail, organization, critical thinking, and extremely strong specific skills associated with math and science. They also must be proficient with many kinds of engineering software design like AutoCAD, Rhino, and Solidworks.

Mechanical design engineers almost always at least have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or another field of engineering. Many also have advanced degrees in these areas. Relevant certification is often needed to obtain the role of a mechanical design engineer.
  • Average Salary: $75,821
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Aircraft Design Engineer Jobs

Number Of Aircraft Design Engineer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California5,020$109,918
2Texas1,746$95,820
3Florida1,200$86,919
4Virginia1,072$97,015
5New York929$92,869
6Washington895$118,862
7Massachusetts866$103,207
8Georgia774$88,791
9Illinois732$93,377
10Maryland678$103,185
11Arizona668$109,965
12North Carolina620$84,871
13Colorado610$94,845
14Pennsylvania602$92,639
15Michigan599$92,911
16Ohio548$93,199
17Oregon529$94,020
18Minnesota466$94,434
19New Jersey417$96,861
20Alabama390$94,707
21Wisconsin383$89,410
22Indiana321$81,287
23Utah314$92,710
24Missouri282$82,937
25Connecticut276$88,849
26South Carolina249$88,086
27Iowa216$76,046
28Tennessee199$84,149
29Kansas173$78,636
30Kentucky153$76,897
31Oklahoma143$86,398
32Nevada135$107,248
33Nebraska131$101,890
34Louisiana131$77,303
35Delaware127$99,208
36New Hampshire122$95,287
37New Mexico118$98,282
38Arkansas116$91,248
39Idaho102$102,615
40Alaska91$89,282
41Mississippi82$84,130
42Rhode Island75$113,314
43Montana72$100,090
44Vermont67$101,736
45Maine67$97,501
46Hawaii64$76,962
47Wyoming59$93,088
48North Dakota54$94,178
49South Dakota54$92,405
50West Virginia48$82,728

Aircraft Design Engineer Education

Aircraft Design Engineer Majors

Aircraft Design Engineer Degrees

Bachelors

80.7 %

Masters

7.0 %

Associate

7.0 %

Top Colleges for Aircraft Design Engineers

1. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-State Tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Graphic Design
Engineering

2. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Engineering
Graphic Design

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Graphic Design

5. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Mechanical Engineering
Engineering
Aerospace Engineering

6. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Business
Aerospace Engineering
Engineering

7. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,094

Enrollment

32,974

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Graphic Design
Engineering

8. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Engineering

9. University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,610

Enrollment

40,329

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Graphic Design
Engineering

10. Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$18,454

Enrollment

40,108

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Mechanical Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Engineering
Graphic Design

Top Skills For an Aircraft Design Engineer

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 18.1% of aircraft design engineers listed catia on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and business skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Aircraft Design Engineer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Aircraft Design Engineer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Aircraft Design Engineer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
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Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume
Aircraft Design Engineer Resume

Aircraft Design Engineer Demographics

Aircraft Design Engineer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
88%
Female
Female
13%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among aircraft design engineers, 12.5% of them are women, while 87.5% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among aircraft design engineers is White, which makes up 68.7% of all aircraft design engineers.

  • The most common foreign language among aircraft design engineers is German at 50.0%.

Online Courses For Aircraft Design Engineer That You May Like

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1. Modeling and Design for Mechanical Engineers with Autodesk Fusion 360

coursera

There are many considerations that play a part in engineering a new product. Regardless of what that product is, there are fundamentals such as form, fit, and function when it comes to digital modeling. In this course, we lay the foundation to create any design and dive deep into topics about the control of the design. From assembly joints and joint limits to complex shapes using forms, rest assured that your design will be rock solid. After completing this course you'll be able to: - Create...

See More on Coursera

2. Simulation Analysis for Mechanical Engineers with Autodesk Fusion 360

coursera

The foundation of engineering design is often coupled with validation. Simulation is a great tool that allows engineers to test, validate, and modify designs before they become a physical prototype. When used early in the process for simulation driven design and throughout the development process, simulation can help drive the design, make informed design decisions, speed up time to production, and most importantly, identify and eliminate costly design mistakes. Like any other tool though, it...

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3. Aerospace Masterclass: Aircraft Design

udemy
4.2
(251)

Become an Aircraft Designed by Building Business Jet From Scratch...

See More on Udemy
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Top Aircraft Design Engineer Employers

Most Common Employers For Aircraft Design Engineer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Aviation Technology Group$106,496$51.201
2CTS Corporation$105,542$50.744
3Gulfstream Aerospace$98,447$47.333
4Honeywell$97,595$46.922
5BizJet International$97,107$46.692
6US Air Conditioning Distributors$95,110$45.731
7Aloft$94,986$45.671
8Jet Aviation$94,205$45.292
9Quartz$93,829$45.111
10USAF Police Alumni Association$92,560$44.501