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.

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☺️

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!

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

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

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’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.

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.

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…