List of Careers

Mechanical engineering is probably the oldest and broadest branch of engineering. It deals with the analysis, design, manufacturing, maintenance, of the various mechanical systems based on the principles of physics and materials science. It often involves study of heat and its applications in design, production, and operations of machine and tools.

The core concepts of mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics, materials science, and structural analysis are important in becoming of a mechanical engineer. Mechanical engineer puts together the concepts and principles of these fields in building or maintenance of sound machines and tools.

A lot of business and fields depend on mechanical engineering for one or more operations, and therefore the applications of the field are very broad. For example, there is application of mechanical engineering in construction, in vehicles, in aircraft and spacecraft, and almost every disciple. Even in homes, there is application of mechanical engineering where many machines and tools are there. Hence one can’t isolate this field due to their multi-fold applications. A mechanical engineer needs to understand various disciplines of physics and how they work simultaneously to understand the problems and devise solutions for the same, be it in any field.

Mechanical engineering is a big employment sector due to its applications in almost every field. Therefore, there are plenty of jobs around the world. The growth in this sector is slower than other emerging fields because of it being an old field; however for those who’re interesting in the subjects, there are enough jobs. It all depends on one’s interest in the field because often it may be laborious and only interest factor can bail a person out of some situations.

The education required for the field is mostly a four year bachelors of engineering which may be called by different names at different places. It is followed by an internship. If interested, candidates may take up masters of engineering also which usually provides better and higher-paying jobs. However, one may have to take a couple of years more of tough education. A doctorate may be taken. Polytechnic courses are also available which are often diplomas and are highly job specific courses for immediate employment basis.

Mechanical engineering may be widespread, but a mechanical engineer often knows more than one fields of study and knows how to apply the combined concepts in various fields. A candidate for mechanical engineering must have high aptitude and understanding for physics and its various disciplines to sustain a career in the field.

Greek ear meaning air and nautical meaning navigation combine to form the word aeronautics. Aeronautics refers to the branch of aerospace which deals with navigation in the air. It is the study involved in design, study, and manufacturing of flight-capable machines or aircrafts. Aeronautics is a branch of Aerodynamics, itself a branch of physics which deals with the motion of air and it’s interaction with various objects.

Aeronautical engineers are, in literal terms, those who’re working on various technical aspects of aeronautics. Aeronautical engineering essentially deals with design, structure, maintenance, technology and mechanism of aircrafts. There are various study options for the ones interested in taking aeronautical engineering as a profession.

The degrees provided in the field may be part-time or full-time, or may be diplomas and certifications. It depends on the level of skills and expertise required, and often, to become an aeronautical engineering, along with the certification, a certain work experience is required.

Aircraft maintenance engineering is a multi-level study which has various functional areas. The three main categories in which diploma or degree are provided on various bases (depending upon the field) are: Maintenance, Structures, and Avionics. Aeronautical engineers who’re certified in maintenance are responsible for release of the aircraft, which may require one or more of maintenance, inspection, repair, and modification. It may in itself contain specializations and therefore self-interest is important in the applicants to choose their line of interest.

Structural fabrications and repairs of the aircraft need to be assessed, planned and implemented, and structures team of the aircraft maintenance is needed to make this possible. Avionics is the last field which is literally a combination of aviation and electronics, and hence the engineers are required to carry out maintenance, modifications, and reparations of the electronic equipments contained inside the aircraft, or on the port.

Airport operation is another field which deals with the day to day operations on various small and large airports. It requires a certification in the form of degree or diploma from a recognized institution to become aeronautical engineer in the field of airport operations.

Other than these, ideally a separate field but considered as part of aeronautical engineering is air traffic control. It has four levels ranging from small terminal traffic control to oceanic traffic control. Radar service is available for all the levels of traffic control except the oceanic. It requires very high precision and alertness apart from the required education.

Aviation usually refers to the industry of aircraft and spacecraft, and there maintenance. It is a wishful and a nice career option. As with any career, one needs to put together a resume good enough to get him a call for the interview. It is important to think of resume as a tool of getting an interview call and not a job, because one wants to generate interest in oneself by putting forth the best resume possible.

An aviation resume is entry-ticket to the world of aviation if nicely put. It is important to note that most companies screen out 95-99% of resumes within a few seconds and maximum a minute. It is therefore important to make it precise, and generate an interest by giving all the proper information in the right format and the template.

A resume headline is the first thing that one should think of. Before looking out for a job, an honest objective must be in mind which makes for the resume headline (or the objective). It should be precise, and catchy, and yet honest. One may seek professional resume builders if one isn’t sure about his or her writing skills.

An aviation resume rides on the educational qualifications and the professional qualifications. Educational qualifications provide the sum total of one’s endeavours in the field of study. Professional qualifications cover the work experience, internship, etc. It is important to put both of them in the right format.

For educational qualifications, degree/diploma, institute name, course years, mode, accreditation, are important details. It is important to note the educational qualifications in a proper format that is either from last to first, or from first to last in proper sequence. Professional qualifications must list work experience, including the internship. The sequence should be either first to last, or last to first, but should match the sequence of educational qualifications.

Since this is an aviation resume, it is important to include various licenses one holds, especially in the case of pilots. All the licenses must be listed in the right sequence, and usually below the objective or profile headline. Then, for pilots, another important thing is the flying times one had. Logbooks of the flight must also be given alongside resume.

The resume must bring one forward as a positive and worthy candidate. An incomplete looking resume shows one isn’t serious about themselves, and hence the job. Contact details must be there, precise, and up-to-date. Resume is usually accompanied by a cover letter.

The earth’s atmosphere, and the space that surrounds it, are aerospace. An aerospace engineer is responsible for the aircrafts, space ventures, and the air force equipments and their maintenance. Aerospace can ideally be divided into air and space to get the two basic fields of aerospace: aeronautics and astronautics.

Aeronautics refers to the transport mechanisms or defence mechanisms through air. Astronautics refers to the space travel and communication. While aeronautics deals with the aircraft, its development, design, construction and testing, astronautics deals with the spacecraft and its development and deployment.

There are various elements of aerospace engineering. Fluid mechanics studies the flow of fluids around objects. Astrodynamics is the study of orbital mechanics, and often involves predictions. Statics and dynamics are the fields of mechanics. Calculus, differential, and linear algebra from mathematics are also important. Other important elements may be electro technology, propulsions, control management, aircraft designing, etc.

Often, there is a specialization involved in the field, these especially being heavily advanced fields. An aerospace engineer may, hence be, completely different from another even though they work on the same aircraft or spacecraft. While one may be concerned about its design, another may be concerned about the maintenance.

The required education for both the fields is immense. It ranges from college graduation to even a doctorate for some fields depending on the level of skills required. A college degree may be obtained in specialized disciplines of physics and mathematics. It may be followed by master’s degree, or multiple masters, and then doctorate, as the need may be for the particular field of interest.

An aerospace engineer requires work experience before being a licensed engineer. Generally, around a couple of years of work experience is required. There are companies who hire trainees who have completed education and are eager to gain work experience.

Engineers may work either in private companies, or the companies funded by the government, or the military itself. There are many private companies that are entering this sphere. However, there aren’t many private space research centres; hence the field of astronautics is mostly limited to the government-run and the government-funded institutes.

An aerospace engineer earns a decent pay package in most countries, and the employment sector is considered to be very good in most places. The work is challenging but if one loves the research base, it is a very profiting career in every way.

Aerospace, the combination of earth’s atmosphere and the space, provides an exciting opportunity of a career. However, it is a highly skilled profession, and for a rewarding career, it is important to have taken the right education, taken the right courses, maintained the optimum health, etc.

An aerospace resume is the one that covers one’s qualifications and experiences in the right way to get him or her job in the field of aerospace. Since aerospace isn’t a small field, there are different requirements for different sub-fields of aerospace. Resume format stays the same in almost every field of job; it’s the minor details that change. In aerospace also, the format stays the same, with the details being personal information, educational qualifications, professional experience, and references on a broad scale. Resume, basically, is a showcase of important contributions (in the particular field) of life to get one a job in the desired field.

Profile headline is an important feature of an aerospace resume. Every resume has a headline, followed by a couple of lines describing one in short. A headline is usually small, catchy, and precise. It is then explained in a couple of lines before moving on to other details. This information may not be necessary in all the cases however. Some modern-day resume templates provide contact information at the top. It doesn’t matter which template one uses, the information may be complete, precise, and in more or less the right order. Therefore, wherever the contact information is placed, it must be true and in same format. Mentioning the right and the most active contacts is important.

Personal information consists of physical features (height and weight are especially important in this field, especially in the air force and pilot training), hobbies, strengths and weaknesses. It is important to use the right keywords for the strengths and having them in bold. Then the focus moves on to educational qualifications. As per the post one is applying to, it is important to keep only the important and required educational qualifications, with the institution name, course years, mode (part-time/full-time), degree or diploma, etc.

The next information is the professional work experience. It is very important in this particular field. However, when seeking internship, it may be left blank. In cases of previous work experience, one may have the previous employer refer you. In that case, mention name, designation with company and industry, and basic contact details (in case the job provider wants to confirm the details, many people giving hoax information). Research done is also important, especially in the field of spacecraft.

A precise aerospace resume with all the important features, and the keywords highlighted is an important start for a career in aerospace.

History speaks that men have often been treated as the fairer sex and given more opportunities, while women have always had to fight for the rights. Aviation history also tells the same. Even today, with all the talks of women empowerment, and so on, there are hardly 500 women captains-in-charge in the world. It is a sad reality that women have always had it tough. However, if there was ever a time for change, it is now, thanks to the efforts of many women aviators of the past.

There are no special aviation schools for women, sadly. Most of the schools that provide education are co-ends. The fairer sex is assumed to be more important there. However with right educational background, mental and physical fitness, it’s possible to make one’s name in the field. Especially since there are many schools that have reservations for women.

Even military aviation isn’t far from women now, with most countries having lady pilots in the military. Countries like Israel, especially, have a large number of female pilots which is a good sign. Most of the air force training schools or institutes in the world also have reservations for women. It shows that there are positive signs, and the aviation history is set to change for good.

One important factor that has kept women away from aviation jobs are odd and unsure working hours. Women with families often find it difficult to manage homes along with an aviation job, and hence settle for other jobs.

Other than flying, even in aeronautical engineering, and astronautics also, women have found there space. There have been many women to have entered the space strata which in itself is a very positive development. Women have been to space now, taking away the distinction from men, and have been successful.

Aeronautics is a field that is more challenge because of the working environment, and the physical and mental stress. However, women have slowly occupied that sphere as well.

One profession popular among women in aviation is the air hostesses. Air hostesses are all women, and the schools training them for the job are often only women schools. In fact, it is one of the most well paying jobs for women currently, and requires personality development, communication skills, flight emergency education and fist aid education mostly. One can join any training school directly after schooling because college isn’t mandatory in this field now-a-days. With more and more women in industry, aviation history is set to change for good.

An airport may be compared to a beehive with bees swarming in and going out. The need to manage the airport in an efficient manner to make sure the passengers, aircraft, and everyone involved is safe, and everything is working smoothly, gave rise to airport operations jobs. They are more or less managerial jobs only.

The ideal requirements for candidates for this field are the ability to work day-in day-out with discipline and calm because security and safety of a lot of passengers and cargo is in the hands of airport manager. It therefore requires discipline, sound mental and physical fitness, and sharp senses along with the ability of problem solving based on intuitive base. The job, however difficult at the beginning, eases out with experience.

Education required for the airport operations jobs are mostly management degrees at bachelors or master’s level, or both. Many reputes institutes now offer the management courses which helps make a career in the field.

There are universities which offer online degrees in aviation management too. The advantage with online degrees could be that one gets to either take another regular course, or earn work experience alongside studying. Work experience is important for airport operations jobs because for such a highly skilled job, no company usually gives someone an opening at a considerable position from the start. Usually, a minimum of two years of work experience in the field is required to be considered for a job as an operations manager.

Since the requirements of the field are military-like, being ability to work day-in day-out, with same amount of skills and determination, and heavy discipline, often candidates with military background get a nod ahead of others. Therefore if one has already had some military experience, it helps. It can especially be helpful in countries where some time in the army is compulsory.

Some mandatory requirements for airport operations jobs are the ability to use navigational tools provided for the purpose, the knowledge of traffic patterns and guide signs, as also the operational guidance signs. Mandatory instruction signs, and signal lighting are another must. Another critical feature that could decide the fate of one’s career in the field is weather observation. Knowledge of federal laws is also important sometimes.

Though the job is tough, requires high levels of skills and accuracy, it is often a rewarding job. The pay-scales are usually good.

Use of aircraft for military purposes, in simple terms, is called military aviation. It is often a more specialized branch with various types of aircraft used in the field. The various aircraft used could be bombers, fighters, fighter bombers, transports, trainers, and reconnaissance aircraft. They provide variety of objectives. Bombers fighters, fighter bombers, provide with the air warfare means. Transporters, as the name suggests are used for transport of the military.

History suggests us that most of the aircrafts were first developed for the military. Until the Second World War, lighter-than-air aircrafts were prevalent, with Second World War being the phase out time of them. The introduction of heavier-than-air aircraft had revolutionized the air warfare and since then, lighter-than-air aircraft haven’t been used much.

The various types of aircraft developed for and by military aviation are:

• Ground-attack aircraft: they stay close to the ground and support the troops on ground. This may be done by supplying equipments or supplementing the line of fire armed men.

• Bombers: as the name suggests, they are almost exclusively used for ground attack, with some of them being single-engine single-personnel, while others being multi-engine multi-crew.

• Fighters: they are used for air-to-air combat.

• Reconnaissance aircraft: they are intelligence weapons.

• Transport Aircraft: used for transport of troops and military equipments.

• Experimental Aircraft: used to carry out various military experiments.

An important factor for someone who wants to be a successful military aviator is the knowledge of history. It is more important in this field to know the history of various equipments and their usage in various wars. They need to know all the battles fought to understand the mechanisms and workings of military, and also understand and develop an intuitive mind for the field.

Air force is the specialized force for air warfare. Today, most of the countries have well distinguished air force, with a proper procedure to get into it. Most of them also have training schools which can be joined after schooling or bachelors depending on the course and the specialization. It is considered an honourable job. Mostly, the entry to military aviation is by military schools set-up by air force which either provides both education and training, or only training, as the case may be to make the candidates battle-ready. Other than flying lessons or aviation training, ground fight training is compulsory for most of the applicants in most countries.

Aviation literally means flight, being derived from Latin Avis meaning bird. Aviation is used to refer to industry, and often used interchangeably with aerospace. It is a technical field basically, and comprises of aeronautics and astronautics, that is science of aircraft and spacecraft respectively. It is a field of immense educational and career potential, and hence there are many aviation colleges offering programs in various disciplines and at various levels. It is important to get a proper education before entering the industry. Therefore, it is important to have a checklist of important colleges, and their courses and the respective eligibility criteria.

Now-a-days, plenty of aviation education is available across the globe. Therefore it doesn’t require a lot of travel and settling far away from origin if one wants to study aviation. It is often important to research about reputed colleges in your area and country.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been consistently ranked as the top university of the US, and even the world, offering aviation courses, sans doctorate. The US universities or institutes that offer a doctorate and are consistently rated among the top are Stanford, CIT and Georgia Institute of Technology.

African continent is host to many reputed aviation colleges. Egypt Aviation Academy of Egypt and Ethiopian Aviation Academy of Ethiopia are a couple of reputed universities. Others are G4 Helicopters in South Africa, Khartoum Academy for Aviation & Technology (KAAT) in Sudan, and Sky path Aviation College in Kenya. They offer different courses at different levels.

Bachelors of Science, Bachelors of Engineering, Masters of Engineering, in aerospace engineering and avionics are among the popular courses provided by institutes in the UK. Some of the universities that have set up Aerospace Engineering College are University of Bath, University of Glamorgan, University of Glasgow, etc.

Indian Aviation industry is strong with IITs being a reputed brand of education provides world over. Academy of Aerospace and Aviation at Indore provides maximum practical exposure in Indian institutes providing aviation education.

Aviation colleges are also there in Australia and other parts of Asia, and South America, Canada etc. Presently, most of the countries have many private and government training institutes for aviation education. If there is zeal to enter the industry, the first step is to have a good education background with excellent physics and mathematics, and gathering of information regarding institutes providing courses in the field and the respective eligibility criteria.

Aviation refers to the science of flying, the word originating from Latin ‘avis’ meaning bird. It is a science that deals with the heavier-than-air objects flying basically, and in modern terms aircrafts precisely. An aviation course is the one that enables one to be able to fly an aircraft.

There are two basic places where one can get pilot training are flight clubs and flight schools. Flight cubs are those which run small level courses and license mostly leisure based and also rent aircrafts to licensed individuals for flying. Because aircrafts are costly, flight clubs are important to those who want to fly an aircraft only for pleasure. They provide mostly Private Pilot License on successful completion of tests and other requirements at a lower cost than flight schools.

Flight schools are proper training institutes for flying and can provide up to the highest level of licensing based of the institute’s certification. For a commercial career as a pilot, an aviation course from a flight school is a must.

Four levels of licensing are there in aircraft flying. The first is Private Pilot License. It is mostly provided by flight clubs for those who seek flying aircraft as leisure. It is usually not enough to get a commercial pilot job, and hence is not a career option.

The second and the most popular license is Commercial Pilot License. It is provided by flight schools on completion of theoretical tests and flying tests which follow the training. An engineering degree helps but isn’t obsolete now-a-days, and hence the basic eligibility remains schooling with very good to excellent physics and mathematics.

The third license is Certified Flight Instructor or Flight Instructor. As the license name suggests, it is important to be able to impart flying lessons to others. It is considered mostly as a means to build flying hours, as also, learning by teaching. The fourth license, Airline Transport Pilot License, is required to be able to fly as a pilot-in-command for an aircraft having multiple-crew. Because this requires a certain minimum hours of flying, and a minimum eligibility age (15000 hours of flying and 23 years of age in US and UK, for example), the Certified Flight Instructor is an important license because the applicants can learn while getting paid and before they meet the minimum eligibility requirements for Airline Transport Pilot License.

An aviation course for pilots is important to obtain a license one wishes to acquire; proper hard work, zeal, and determination along with the love for flying are important criteria.