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Aircraft design engineer vs aerospace engineer

The differences between aircraft design engineers and aerospace engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an aircraft design engineer and an aerospace engineer. Additionally, an aircraft design engineer has an average salary of $102,461, which is higher than the $100,401 average annual salary of an aerospace engineer.

The top three skills for an aircraft design engineer include CATIA, CAD and GD. The most important skills for an aerospace engineer are C++, DOD, and FAA.

Aircraft design engineer vs aerospace engineer overview

Aircraft Design EngineerAerospace Engineer
Yearly salary$102,461$100,401
Hourly rate$49.26$48.27
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs44,26942,086
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Aircraft design engineer vs aerospace engineer salary

Aircraft design engineers and aerospace engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Aircraft Design EngineerAerospace Engineer
Average salary$102,461$100,401
Salary rangeBetween $76,000 And $136,000Between $71,000 And $140,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Arizona
Best paying company-Thrush Aircraft
Best paying industry-Manufacturing

Differences between aircraft design engineer and aerospace engineer education

There are a few differences between an aircraft design engineer and an aerospace engineer in terms of educational background:

Aircraft Design EngineerAerospace Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorMechanical EngineeringAerospace Engineering
Most common collegeGeorgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of Technology

Aircraft design engineer vs aerospace engineer demographics

Here are the differences between aircraft design engineers' and aerospace engineers' demographics:

Aircraft Design EngineerAerospace Engineer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 87.5% Female, 12.5%Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 11.1% White, 68.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 11.0% White, 69.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between aircraft design engineer and aerospace engineer duties and responsibilities

Aircraft design engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the development of the next generation products base on existing refrigerants and CO2 system including prototyping and initial manufacturing run.
  • Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical, aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements and communicate feed back to design engineers.
  • Develop and maintain work plans and BOM that support goals for cost, quality and delivery of prototype engine builds.
  • Originate drawing and model product definition, BOMs, and product life cycle management (PLM) data.
  • Design fuselage composite core details utilizing FIBERSIM.

Aerospace engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead redesign review for cyclic stick, composite to metal, (CATIA).
  • Schedule HVAC equipment to keep equipment off as much as possible and still achieve a healthy, comfortable setting for academics.
  • Manage HVAC retro-commissioning program to optimize facility energy use.
  • Serve as program focal point for integration of radar onto flight test aircraft.
  • Perform design reviews, operations procedural reviews, and failure mode investigations of concept NASA launch vehicles/propulsion systems.
  • Debug and run regression tests.
  • Show more

Aircraft design engineer vs aerospace engineer skills

Common aircraft design engineer skills
  • CATIA, 18%
  • CAD, 17%
  • GD, 8%
  • Structural Design, 8%
  • Design Reviews, 8%
  • Aircraft Design, 7%
Common aerospace engineer skills
  • C++, 15%
  • DOD, 5%
  • FAA, 5%
  • Systems Engineering, 4%
  • Solidworks, 4%
  • NASA, 4%

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