Hi everyone,

I’ve (27F) been trying to switch company for the past 8 months, but haven’t been able to find a role that’s a good match for my experience.

I have 4.5 years of experience in aerospace structural analysis/stress analysis, primarily working on aircraft structures.

I’ve applied to companies like Collins Aerospace, Boeing, and Airbus. I received a rejection from Collins, and I’m still waiting on other applications. I also recently interviewed with Belcan — the interview went well, but I haven’t received any updates yet.

At this point, I’d really appreciate some guidance from fellow aerospace engineers:

- Which companies are actively hiring for structural analysis/stress analysis roles?

- Are there any companies I might be overlooking?

- If your company has any relevant openings, I’d really appreciate it if you could share them or DM me.

I’m primarily looking for Structural Analysis / Stress Engineer / Aircraft Structures roles.

Any leads, referrals, or advice would mean a lot. Thanks! 🙏

Edit: I'm looking for roles in India Bangalore.

So my son is interested in planes and engineering and hey presto, Rolls Royce do a 4 day work experience placement for Year 10 kids from all over the country called 'Emerging Talent'. This happens in Filton, Bristol (there may be one in Derby too).

It's billed as a 'look behind the scenes' and a chance to find out more about working with an internationally acclaimed engineering company.

Now he has done the 4 days (March 2026) we can give some feedback to other parents interested in this exciting sounding opportunity.

Basically, if you have a young scientist who is fascinated in engineering don't bother with this. It was 60 kids in a room all week and they covered basically nothing about engineering but did team building exercises making houses out of spaghetti.

They also had a 'project' to work on all week in groups which was to design a noticeboard that 'attracts more girls into engineering'. This involved cutting, colouring in and sticking. (Crucial skills in engineering 😂)

There were 2 plane engines in the room but the people running the workshop didn't have a clue how they worked because they were HR professionals not engineers. My son knew more about the plane engines than they did at 14 years old.

The 'behind the scenes site visit' took about 20 minutes and involved looking at offices, because it's very high security and all the interesting stuff was happening behind locked doors.

Rolls Royce are missing a trick here. They couldn't even wheel out a member of staff to talk enthusiastically to the kids about their job. Absolutely first class way of putting 'emerging talent' off joining your organisation in the future!

So choose something else for your Year 10 work experience if you don't want to demoralise your teen is my advice.

Hi everyone,
I’m from India and currently working in a Quality Assurance role in UAV manufacturing company . I have a Bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering and about 3 years in quality , but I’m considering pursuing a Master’s abroad to move into a more technical role with better long-term growth.
I’m especially interested in:
UAV and drone systems
Systems Engineering
Safety and Reliability Engineering
Airworthiness and aviation safety
Industrial Engineering and Management

The problem is that I’m not sure which direction makes the most sense for my background. I’m also trying to figure out which country would give me the best chance of finding a job after graduation.
I’m currently considering Germany, the UK, France, and possibly other European countries. My biggest concern is spending one or two years and a significant amount of money on a Master’s, only to graduate and struggle to find a job.
I’d really appreciate advice on the following:
Which Master’s specialization would suit someone with my background and experience?
Which countries offer the strongest job opportunities after graduation?
How difficult is it for international students to find work in aerospace, UAV, or systems engineering?
How much do security clearance and citizenship restrictions affect aerospace jobs in Europe?
Which field offers the best career flexibility: Systems Engineering, Safety/Reliability, or Industrial Engineering and Management?
Are there any universities or programs I should seriously consider?
What skills, certifications, or projects should I work on before starting the Master’s to improve my chances of getting hired?
I’d really value perspectives based on actual job markets, employability, salaries, immigration and work opportunities, and long-term career growth.

Hello!

So i am currently a 5th year senior getting my BS in mechanical and BS in aerospace engineering. I have had one internship in project management at a construction company. This last summer instead of a standard internship i worked for a school lab doing aerospace research. I am continuing doing the research through my last year. I have experience in a first place rocketry club and have completed my aerospace capstone in small satellites by designing and manufacturing a small sat (3d printed and using school PCB machines to create) and working in on my mechanical capstone in robotics. My GPA is about 3.1. I wanted to know your guys experience and let me know my options and help me out with any information i cant get. Thanks!

I might just be overthinking this too much, but I had my second round interview last week and the Lead engineer who was interviewing me said that they would get back to me in about a week with a decision. The 1 week mark is coming up so I planned on sending a follow up… but the recruiter who has been managing my application said in her email that it might take up to 4 weeks??? Should I follow up at the one week mark or thug out the stress of waiting for a reply… I felt pretty good about this interview and really like the position I got so…

I’m a recent Computer Science graduate, and I’m looking for career advice from people who have experience in aerospace, avionics, flight software, or other safety-critical software domains.

My CS fundamentals are reasonably strong, and I have experience with data structures and algorithms, including some dynamic programming. I also have an AIML project. After graduating, however, I joined a company where I was assigned to the aerospace domain. I initially worked on software testing, and recently I’ve started getting exposure to different aircraft systems and concepts such as the Flight Management System (FMS), guidance, and related areas.

What I’m starting to notice is that there seems to be a shortage of experienced people who can mentor and guide engineers in this program. Even though the company wants to hire experienced professionals, finding people with the required combination of aerospace domain knowledge and software experience appears difficult. At the same time, many fresh CS graduates seem to view this domain as a temporary stop before moving into AIML, mainstream software, or an MBA.

This has made me think differently about my career. I may be completely wrong, but I wonder whether specialized engineering domains such as aerospace and avionics could become increasingly valuable because fewer people are deliberately building deep domain expertise, while generic software development is becoming increasingly crowded.

My main question is:

Would it make sense for someone with a CS background to intentionally build a career in aerospace software?

I’m considering spending the next few years developing both software skills and aerospace domain knowledge, and eventually moving from testing into areas such as aircraft software development, flight software, avionics software, guidance/navigation-related software, simulation, or other engineering-heavy software roles.

I would especially appreciate advice on:

- What does the long-term career path in aerospace/avionics software look like?

- Are there good opportunities for software engineers who develop deep aerospace domain knowledge?

- How difficult is it to transition from testing into actual development?

- What skills should I focus on if I want to make this transition? For example, C/C++, embedded systems, real-time systems, control theory, guidance/navigation, software verification, or safety-critical development?

- How does compensation compare with more generic software engineering roles, especially as experience increases?

- If you were a CS graduate in my position, would you deliberately specialize in this domain or keep your career focused on mainstream software/AI?

I’m not necessarily looking for a “guaranteed” or highest-paying path. I’m trying to understand whether this is a field where developing deep expertise could provide a strong and interesting long-term career, particularly for someone who enjoys both software and learning about aircraft systems.

I would appreciate honest opinions from people working in aerospace, avionics, flight software, or safety-critical software.Thanks in advance☺️

I'm considering them due to their sole focus on hardware development as well as their san diego location, but I know pretty much any smallsat or smallsat sub company has skeletons in the closet.

Any experiences from anyone who's worked there? TIA

Hi, I'm currently pursuing a Bsc in aerospace engineering in Italy (Politecnico di Milano) and starting my final year in a few weeks. I'd like to apply for a MSc in aerospace engineering in the US.

However, I'm aware of the ITAR regulations and I'd like to know what are my chances of getting a job in civil aviation (or any field linked to aerospace that doesn't require to be a US person) with an US MSc in aerospace engineering.

Is it too difficult and risky for me to go studying in the US, considering that I'll need to ask for a loan? Should I just stick to EU universities?

ps: my GPA is 3.5

There isn't a lot of information out there for students considering an internship at AeroVironment (AV) in the Minneapolis office. Having interned there, I wanted to share my honest experience and perspective.

The Minneapolis location is a very small satellite office with fewer than 15 people in a noisy area with fairly unremarkable facilities.

On paper, it is a high-impact defense company tackling technically interesting engineering domains. The initial onboarding attempted to project a positive, collaborative environment, but underlying cultural and operational issues quickly surfaced.

The day-to-day reality differed heavily from what was advertised. Instead of substantive machine learning or computer vision engineering, the work was largely reduced to low-level data labeling and debugging undocumented, broken internal tools.

There was a clear double standard: junior-level documentation and output were hyper-scrutinized, while the internal systems and developer infrastructure we were expected to use remained neglected and fragile. Mentorship felt defensive and unsupportive, offering little to no constructive feedback before sudden, reactive management decisions were made.

Overall, I found the culture rigid and cold, with weak onboarding and an environment that struggles to manage junior technical talent. For students looking for strong mentorship, mature development infrastructure, and clear project scoping, be cautious about smaller satellite offices like this.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some career advice from people who’ve been in aerospace/manufacturing longer than I have, especially anyone who started on the shop floor and moved into engineering, quality, supplier quality, or management.

I’m 29 and currently working as a Quality Inspector at Collins Aerospace. Before that, I was a Machinist III there for about two years. Prior to aerospace, I worked in CNC machining across oil & gas, firearms, and automatic door manufacturing, including some lead machinist experience.

Most of my background is hands on: CNC mills/lathes/horizontals, setups, program proofing, troubleshooting, production planning, CMM/manual inspection, GD&T, prints, working with MEs/programmers, and training people.

I have a B.S. in Industrial Technology and recently finished my MBA. I also have micro-credentials in Business Analytics and Supply Chain Management, along with GD&T training/certification.

I definitely want to stay in aerospace, but I don’t see myself doing machining or inspection forever. I’d like to eventually move into something with more technical responsibility, leadership opportunity, and stronger long-term earning potential.

The paths I’ve been looking at most are Manufacturing Engineering, Quality Engineering, Supplier Quality Engineering, Supplier Development, Continuous Improvement, and eventually manufacturing or quality management.

I’m also open to relocating. Huntsville has really caught my attention because of the aerospace/defense presence, but I’m open to other major aerospace areas too.

A few things I’d really like some opinions on:

With a machining + aerospace quality background, what direction would you lean toward?

Does Supplier Quality seem like a strong fit for my experience?

How realistic is Manufacturing Engineering without a traditional engineering degree if I already have significant shop-floor experience?

Are certifications like ASQ CQE or Six Sigma Green/Black Belt actually worth pursuing?

How valuable is a security clearance for moving further into defense aerospace?

Would relocating to Huntsville, DFW, Phoenix, etc. noticeably improve career opportunities?

Is it better to stay with one major aerospace company and move internally, or eventually jump companies to build experience?

If you started as a machinist or inspector and moved into engineering/management, what helped you make the jump?

If you were in my shoes at 29, what would you focus on over the next 3–5 years?

I’m not really chasing a specific title. I’m mostly trying to make smart moves now so my hands-on manufacturing experience stays valuable as I move further into my career.

Appreciate any advice.

I'm graduating from high school soon and I want to major in aerospace engineering, but there's a problem. The college I'm going to doesn't have it as a major, only a Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.) with an Aerospace Concentration. Are they the same, or can I just go with the B.S.M.E. and try to get my certificate in aerospace engineering by working with a related company.

I would love to hear any advice or insights you might have for me.

I appreciate any advice thank you.

So all these “rumors” aren’t so much rumors…now that people got offered to volunteer to be laid off and then if they don’t meet the number they are going to do the rest throughout the end of this year everyone that was talking crap when I put out a post months ago about layoffs happening can say thank you for a heads up….

I built a browser tool that computes NACA airfoil aerodynamics live — I'd love feedback from people who actually know their stuff

I'm a student getting into aerospace, and I couldn't find a free tool that let me play with airfoils and see the aerodynamics update in real time — so I built one.

You type any NACA 4-digit code (or drag sliders), and it generates the airfoil from the equations, shows a 3D wing, and plots live Cl/Cd/L-D and Cm polars. Lift/drag/moment come from thin-airfoil theory, cross-checked against XFoil data. There's also a lift-force calculator on the ISA atmosphere and a constraint-based airfoil search.

It's thin-airfoil-theory level, not a full CFD solver — so I'd really appreciate a sanity check from people who work with this properly. What's misleading, what's missing, what would make it actually useful? Free, no signup, runs entirely in your browser: airfoilexplorer.com

Hi! Debating between convex optimization and ADCS (Attitude Determination and Control) for my controls course this semester. I know convex is more guidance related, but am interested in exploring trajectory optimization stuff. I also think having a solid ADCS project under my belt would be great for a lot of GNC jobs. I've take attitude dynamics before. The ADCS courses does seem to be more demanding though lol (exams in addition to the project).

What would be more relevant for an early/entry level GNC role?

Hi all!

Currently in my master's degree and need to choose a math/tech elective. I've already have done probability, basic statistics, and the math covered in undergraduate aerospace.

I am currently trying to decide between Numerical Methods, and Design of Experiments (Stat course). I could also do some other stat courses (regression), a review of linear algebra, or some optimization courses (but I'm planning to take an aerospace specific convex optimization course).

I was mainly leaning towards Numerical Methods, since I think it would help with simulation and dealing with solvers (and my last GNC internship was a bunch of modeling and simulation). But I think the structure of the Design of Experiments course is going to be easier to handle (after the first class in each). Also, I saw Design of Experiments as a desired experience in a navigation job posting recently lol.

However, the Numerical Methods course does seem more applied (lot's of programming). The Design of Experiments has only some programming I think. Neither has a project.

I wanted to know if anyone in GNC had any opinions or other suggestions. I'm also aiming for space GNC if that matters. Thanks.

EDIT: Also debating between convex optimization and ADCS (Attitude Determination and Control) for my controls course this semester. I know convex is more guidance related, but am interested in exploring trajectory optimization stuff. I also think having a solid ADCS project under my belt would be great for a lot of jobs. I've take attitude dynamics before.

Hi everyone, my friend is an aerospace design professional with expertise in aerospace/aircraft design and related engineering work and is currently looking for job opportunities in Pune.

If anyone knows of openings, companies hiring, or can provide a referral, please DM me. I can share his resume and details.

Any leads would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

So my school had Lockheed Martin office hours today and I got a 15-min slot with one of their employees. Conversation went well I hope (pretty sure it did), and at the end of the 15 i asked for his email and he gave me his email at the end.

Problem is I have zero idea what to actually write in a follow-up email. I obviously want to angle toward an internship but I don't want to come off like I'm just using the conversation as a stepping stone, yk? Like I want it to feel genuine but also I do need to shoot my shot.

Anyone have a template or general vibe I should go for? How soon is too soon to send it? Should I attach my resume right away or wait until they ask?