Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Job outlook for flight controls engineers in the United States
Are flight controls engineer jobs in demand?
Flight controls engineer job and salary trends over time
Flight controls engineer jobs over time
Flight controls engineer job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 525 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 562 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 585 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 592 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 609 | 0.00% |
Average flight controls engineer salary over time
Flight controls engineer salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $99,619 | $47.89 | +1.8% |
| 2024 | $97,847 | $47.04 | +1.1% |
| 2023 | $96,772 | $46.53 | +1.9% |
| 2022 | $94,933 | $45.64 | +3.1% |
| 2021 | $92,094 | $44.28 | +1.7% |
Flight controls engineer jobs by state
Most common states for flight controls engineers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 209 | 30% |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 742 | 9% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 83 | 9% |
| 4 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 476 | 8% |
| 5 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 386 | 7% |
| 6 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 576 | 6% |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 435 | 6% |
| 8 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 428 | 6% |
| 9 | California | 39,536,653 | 1,975 | 5% |
| 10 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 317 | 5% |
| 11 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 269 | 5% |
| 12 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 210 | 5% |
| 13 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 169 | 5% |
| 14 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 68 | 5% |
| 15 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 496 | 4% |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 241 | 4% |
| 17 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 210 | 4% |
| 18 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 79 | 4% |
| 19 | Vermont | 623,657 | 23 | 4% |
| 20 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 22 | 4% |
Most common cities for flight controls engineers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poway | 2 | 4% | $104,368 |
| 2 | Stratford | 2 | 4% | $93,040 |
| 3 | Savannah | 3 | 2% | $91,996 |
| 4 | Irvine | 2 | 1% | $105,348 |
| 5 | Duluth | 1 | 1% | $100,058 |
| 6 | Huntsville | 1 | 1% | $97,997 |
| 7 | Dallas | 1 | 0% | $99,451 |
| 8 | Phoenix | 1 | 0% | $115,102 |
Flight Controls Engineer job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of flight controls engineer experts
Gonzaga University
Stevens Institute of Technology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
San Diego State University
University of Utah
Old Dominion University
University of Central Florida
Tufts University
Michigan Technological University
University of Mississippi
Kennesaw State University
University of California, Davis
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Wright State University
University of Utah
What Flight Controls Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Steven Schennum Ph.D. P.E.: The most important skill is the ability to learn new things, and especially to unlearn things you “know” after evidence demonstrates that these things are not true. Learn how to analyze information. Your intuition, simulations, and results should all be in alignment. If they are not, then dig deeper. Learn the terminology and jargon specific to your company and your projects. Spend time reading. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be intimidated by new software.
What Flight Controls Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Min Song: Communication skills and innovative thinking skills. As emerging technologies continue to be complex and multidisciplinary, it’s important to be able to communicate with professionals in diverse disciplines. Taking robotics, for example, the electrical engineer must be able to work with mechanical and biomechanical engineers, computer engineers, software engineers, artificial intelligence experts, cognitive scientists, system engineers, etc. A person will be able to generate innovative ideas only if the person has a complete and comprehensive understanding of the entire system and can work well with other individuals with a range of expertise.
What general advice would you give to a Flight Controls Engineer?
Arie Nakhmani: Electrical Engineering combines a dozen sub-fields such as power systems, telecommunications, embedded systems, machine learning/AI, hardware design, signal analysis, IoT, etc., and jobs in these different subfields could look completely different. Some involve office work with the computer designing algorithms or optimizing processes, others might involve inspecting power transmission lines with drones in the middle of the forest. Some jobs include testing airplane engines and others designing microchips and working in clean rooms.
What Flight Controls Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Arie Nakhmani: Electrical Engineering has always (from its inception) been a good profession to enter, but now it is better than ever. Now everything is becoming Electrical Engineering, and the world cannot survive without it even for a few days. Electrical Engineering is the most necessary profession for the survival of modern society.
What will help Flight Controls Engineers increase their earning potential?
Dr. Arif Engin: Electrical engineers solve problems by skillfully applying mathematics and science. Electrical engineering classes are challenging at college, and electrical engineers must embrace lifelong learning to remain at the top of their skills. In the end, seeing the results of their work in a finished product is a rewarding experience.
Florian Solzbacher
Department Chair, Professor, Elect & Computer EngineeringUniversity of Utah
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
What skills stand out on Flight Controls Engineer resumes?
Florian Solzbacher: Examples of having applied the knowledge gained in their studies to practical examples of solving engineering problems that require the combination of skills and at least some understanding of system engineering aspects are important signals that graduating engineers are ready to be productive in a real-world setting are always important. Obviously, participating in projects that address current "hot topic" problems, e.g., in robotics, AI/machine learning, power systems, biomedical applications, or that resonate with specific problems an employer is currently working on, will raise a student's profile.
Supplemental skills, such as Entrepreneurial or business training, can enhance and differentiate a student's resume. This shows that an engineer is not solely focused on the core technical engineering skills but does have an understanding of the driving forces and their interaction in a real-world business setting, that are not only part of the design requirements for a product (e.g., design to cost), but also often drive the selection of technical solution paths, after all, every development and product has to make business sense. Imagine two young engineers proposing a solution to their manager for a new product: one maybe even over-exceeds the technical requirements, but the development and/or manufacturing and servicing effort and cost is significantly higher than a colleagues solution that may only just about reach the requirements, or maybe even compromise on some specifications, but that is far cheaper to develop, make and service and that may allow entering a far larger market- chances are very high that the business may decide to go for the "inferior" solution from a technical point of view, that is, however, the better product. This supplemental skill set is a significant competitive advantage to have as an engineer.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Flight Controls Engineers?
Florian Solzbacher: First of all, the fundamentals (mostly math, physics, materials/chemistry) and basic EE/CE concepts need to be solid. As stated above: the ability to solve real-world development and system integration problems that require "global optimization" of technical performance as opposed to local optimization of specific sub-systems or components is really critical.
Beyond that, given the accelerating breadth of specializations and sub-areas, it is important that students have sufficient depth and breadth of knowledge in the specific area they are targeting. It is important that schools are offering tracks and guidance as to what skills are needed to allow students to successfully master engineering tasks across a range of sub-areas. We have to recognize that in the context of a 4-year program, it is no longer possible to train a student in all areas of ECE - a combined BS/MS degree or MS/Ph.D. degree obviously provides more runway to add breadth.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Flight Controls Engineers?
Michel Audette Ph.D.: My take on this is what I've seen with my wife's work in industry, which suggests that the industrial landscape is going to be increasingly equipped for, and open to, remote work. I think that the implication for graduates is that they may need to be flexible about working within a geographically distributed team. If company deciders feel that someone is worth employing because of a unique skill set, then they would typically be more willing to hire that person even if unable to make it to work regularly, if that is feasible given the nature of the work; some work, such as hardware testing or industrial production, may not lend itself to remote contributions.
Nonetheless, for those areas that accommodate geographically distributed activity, such as software development, graduates can expect to interact with team members all over the US, possibly all over the world, if someone is deemed unique enough to hire despite living abroad. This places a high premium on the ability and willingness to work in a heterogeneous team, where not only will members look different, but also have myriad accents in their English, which will also impose a certain adaptability and tolerance to team members.
A related impact could also be that global hiring will make it easier for multi-national companies to hire a portion of their talent in countries where wages are lower and motivate US-based engineers to seek out graduate degrees in order to increase their competitiveness and employability at US salaries.
Maria Jacob
ProfessorUniversity of Central Florida
Department of ECE
What type of skills will young Flight Controls Engineers need?
Maria Jacob: I feel that the skills needed will not change to what is currently required; however, it may well happen that some of the graduates don't have them. For example, good communications skills. It may happen that the graduates have good written skills but not verbal, since more and more we send emails than calling someone. I know, I sound like an old person, which is funny because I'm writing this...
What type of skills will young Flight Controls Engineers need?
Eric Miller Ph.D.: Collaboration and communication. The most pressing problems being addressed by engineers all have critical, non-technical components. The impact of possible solutions on people or the environment, the ethical implications of new and evolving technologies, the tradeoffs of investing in one area rather than another; all of these and related issues are increasingly integral to the engineering process. As such, it is critical for new graduates to be able to work not just well, but truly productively with people from all sorts of backgrounds and in all different fields. Central to this effort is an ability to communicate technical issues clearly and concisely to highly intelligent people whose skills may be in very non-technical areas such as law, public policy, media, and the like.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Flight Controls Engineers?
Joshua Pearce Ph.D: I think the virtualization of work and automation, in general, has been accelerated by the pandemic. This means that the competition for what most of us consider 'normal' jobs will become fiercer, and the skills a graduate needs to get those jobs are becoming more sophisticated. Graduates need to work at home, and a lot of it relies on the advanced use of computing (think AI, CV, etc., not merely staring at a screen for entertainment).
This also means graduates are competing against a global workforce - hungry people willing to work hard. Overall, we have also seen a massive shift in wealth in the last year, the undereducated are now in real trouble, and the hyper-educated and wealthy are better off than ever before. Graduates will want to make sure they stay in the latter group, bolstering their education and picking up advanced skills. This does not have to be a chore - one of the best ways to do this is to dive into an open-source project and maybe save/make a little money along the way.
What type of skills will young Flight Controls Engineers need?
Dr. Ramanarayanan "Vish" Viswanathan Ph.D.: All graduates need to 1) have a broad understanding of electrical engineering and have programming skills, 2) be able to work collaboratively, and 3) effectively communicate with co-workers, both orally and through writing. Additionally, depending upon the nature of the job, some would need effective communication skills to interface with external stakeholders, and some would need strong foundations on theory and applications of electrical engineering, including networking of computers and devices.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Flight Controls Engineers?
Hai Ho Ph.D.: I believe the impact is short term, and once vaccines are effective and available, our graduates will have expected graduation and access to a responsive job market.
What Flight Controls Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Andre Knoesen Ph.D.: The gap year is an excellent period to expand soft skills (e.g., communication, critical thinking, creativity, writing, and exposure to other cultures) that are essential for new engineers. Basic engineering talents could be maintained by volunteering time in K-12 schools, such as assisting in distance learning efforts.
Robert Saunders P.E.
Assistant Department HeadUniversity of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Electrical Engineering Department
What general advice would you give to a Flight Controls Engineer?
Robert Saunders P.E.: The job market for an electrical engineering student coming out of college is challenging right now. Many companies are still hiring electrical engineering students but, the students can't be as finicky about what jobs they are accepting. More than half of the students are starting their new jobs working remotely, which is a large shift from normal but the companies seem to be using this time to bring the new hires up to speed on policy, procedures, and industry regulations.
What Flight Controls Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Robert Saunders P.E.: Project management and/or leadership training, either at the university they graduated from, or a good online source. Either or both of these would demonstrate the proactive attitude of the student. And get involved in something; community service groups, design a project, anything that shows you are pushing forward professionally and personally, not just sitting at home.
What general advice would you give to a Flight Controls Engineer?
Fred Garber Ph.D.: I think the primary question, in the minds of those who are yet to graduate or are still searching, is in regard to the strength of the technical job market, especially the local job market. But you are in a position to definitively answer that question.
In you article, I would ask that you address the following:
Number of employers looking to fill and number of job offerings in the region (by engineering and computer science major) compared to last year and to the previous five years.
Any noticeable differences in job descriptions Zippia is receiving relative to work environment, benefits, starting salaries, etc.
Many of our soon-to-graduate students would be very interested in these quantitative and qualitative comparisons. Additionally, vast numbers of potential students would benefit from such information to guide their career choices.
What Flight Controls Engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Angela Rasmussen: Hone your skills by taking online classes, or consider getting something such as the University of Utah Electrical and Computer Engineering Online Master's Degree which can increase your overall income, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, by approximately $20,000 in comparison to just having a Bachelor of Science degree. Our department has removed many barriers and streamlined our admittance process for this upcoming Fall 2020 semester.
Another skill to expand is programming. Consider learning a new programming language to build on your current skills. Also, look at different job opportunities and choose a skill that you are lacking to improve upon.
What general advice would you give to a Flight Controls Engineer?
Dr. Angela Rasmussen: Take heart that while Electrical Engineering jobs have been impacted by COVID19, it's impact is minimal in comparison to most other areas. While many areas have been hit hard by layoffs, Electrical Engineering has only slightly been affected in comparison. Many companies have declared hiring freezes and many others are still hiring. Therefore, don't get discouraged. There are Electrical Engineerings jobs needing to be filled! Make sure to be professional in all your interactions and work on improving your online presence.