List of Careers

Aerospace is the earth’s atmosphere and the space that it surrounds. It, however, is used for business terms mostly. Aerospace is the business and the science of flying of aircrafts. As the world has been coming closer, the commerce, tourism, has developed and the military around the world have added a dimension called air force; it is aerospace that provides a buzzing career to many hopefuls. To take the field as a career however, one needs to know about various aerospace courses available, and what one wants.

Firstly, for the pilot training, the most popular course across the globe remains Commercial Pilot Training. It may be a short-term or long-term course depending on the previous educational qualifications of the applicant. It is important to get oneself acquainted with the eligibility in the applicant’s region. A Commercial Pilot License is provided on full completion of training, and passing satisfactorily of the theoretical exams and the practical exams involving hours of flying tests.

A Private Pilot License is also an option, which however, is mostly for leisure. There isn’t a high guarantee that Private Pilot License itself may provide you with job opportunities.

Flight Instructor is the next level of licensing, which enables a pilot to teach others to fly. Airline Transport Flying License is the highest level of licensing which requires one to be able to captain a multi-crew flight. In US and UK, this requires minimum 23 years of age, and 1500 hours of flying to be eligible to apply for this license.

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer is a field which provides part-time or full-time certification (degree or diploma) enabling someone to work in maintenance of the aircraft. There are three different categories in this certification namely:

• Maintenance: An engineer certified in this field is responsible for release of the aircraft, which is carried out after maintenance, inspection, repair, or modification.

• Structures: Aircraft structural fabrications and repairs are assessed, planned and implemented by the individuals certified in this field.

• Avionics: Aircraft electronic systems are maintained modified, repaired by these individuals.

Other courses include Airport Operations. These may be full-time or part-time, and degree or diploma based on the level of skills achieved after the course. The ones who complete the course are usually employed in different working of airports, and are not directly involved with the aircraft.

There are many aerospace courses based on the specialization of the job and therefore plenty of career opportunities.

Aerospace is a field of science which deals with flying objects, heavier than air, either in earth’s atmosphere, or space. Aeronautics is the field which deals with travel by air that is mostly about aircrafts. Astronautics is the field which deals with space travel and communication, mostly about spacecrafts. It is an interesting career option. However, one must have a capable educational background coupled with an impressive work experience to be able to work in this field.

Various colleges and institutions around the globe provide quality education in the field. Aerospace colleges are spread evenly, and one can undergo education in one’s country also, with various options coming up.

Aeronautical engineering can be done at bachelors, masters, or doctorate level, or more than one of them. The courses for each of them do exist. It depends on the field one is applying to, and the skills required for the same that determine the education one must undergo.

In US, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has been ranked on top consistently, though they do not offer doctorate. Other universities or colleges that are on top are Stanford, CIT, Georgia Institute of Technology, rated among top three institutions providing aerospace courses including doctorate in the US.

In UK, University of Bath, Glamorgan, Glasgow, are some of the universities that have Aerospace Engineering Colleges to impart courses at various levels in this field. B.Sc., B.Eng., M.Eng., in aerospace engineering and avionics are most popular courses in the fields in these universities.

In India, IITs impart high level education in the aerospace education, with them being consistently ranked among the top engineering colleges in India, and reputed colleges in the world. Academy of Aerospace and Aviation located at Indore has a distinct positive of offering maximum field training in the field in India.

In Africa, Egypt Aviation Academy and Ethiopian Aviation Academy are important aerospace colleges. Khartoum Academy for Aviation & Technology (KAAT) in Sudan, G4 Helicopters in South Africa, Skypath Aviation College in Kenya are some of the other colleges offering aerospace education at different levels.

As of now, most of the countries have some or the other aerospace colleges, with special training institutes set up by government to enter the military aviation. It is important for one to get information regarding top institutes in one’s area and check out eligibility criteria and the courses offered.

Avis in Latin means bird, the word being origin for a popular industry, aviation. The industry deals with the science of flying, that is, heavier than air aircrafts. There has been a boom in the air transport, especially with the development of commerce, and military. This could be attributed to the fact that air travel is the fastest currently, and time is money. Tourism industry has also contributed in the progress.

It’s quite a challenging line, but for those who want their career to fly high, an aviation career is a good choice. This choice also depends on one’s subjects of choice. If physics and mathematics are favourite subjects, then one can take this as a career option.

To enter the industry, a good education is a must. From the very beginning of competitive exams, one need to have high grades in the important subjects and must have an inclination towards the related sciences. In the graduate school, one needs to have physics and mathematics for a career in most fields in aviation.

After school, the aeronautical engineering is a specific field which may take three to five years, depending on one’s place. It is then followed up by work experience on field. For pilots, it’s not necessary now to undergo college, though many airlines and institutes prefer college graduation. What is important is a special pilot training which is provided by various private as well as government institutes. A test needs to be taken, which comprises of hours of flying as well as theoretical tests, clearing which, a pilot license is provided.

Air traffic controllers are very important persons considering the increase in air traffic. A career as an air traffic controller requires high degree of education, efficiency and generally very high experience. A sound physical and mental health is also a must. The work of an air traffic controller is to manage traffic at four different levels ranging from an airport or even a terminal to international borders and oceans. The progress is mostly pyramid-like in the field from bottom to top with the most competitive reaching the top.

An aviation career is one that involves high skill, education, and challenge. It has parallel application in comers and military, the military being tougher and riskier for life, though more honorary. It is an excellent career for those who love the adrenaline rush and are well adept at the mathematics and the physics.

Aerospace refers to earth’s atmosphere and the surrounding space. However, it is more commonly referred to as the air travel and transport which has commercial, industrial, and military applications. An aerospace career can be in different fields, majorly, technical, and hospitality.

Technical jobs in the aerospace may be of different type’s altogether. The most common and sought after career is to become a pilot. It is a very-well paying profession which requires sound health and perfect eyesight along with excellent educational qualifications in the fields of physics and mathematics.

Now-a-days, a pilot doesn’t necessarily require undergoing college graduation as there are special training schools to train pilots after schooling. It takes a couple of years of training school to obtain commercial pilot license. However, the fees of the training schools are generally high. The alternative is to go through a government run institutions.

Aeronautical engineering requires a good college graduation which may take even three to five years followed by some work experience. The credentials required are basically same, a strong background of physics and mathematics. It also requires some laboratory work, and a couple of tests as regulated by one’s location, to clear the license tests for aerospace engineers. There are regulatory authorities for the same as per one’s country, and city, as the case may be.

Other than the commercial aerospace career, there is an option of a military career too. The technical fields remain almost the same; however there is more investment on research aspects by the military. Therefore aerospace engineers with a liking for research are ideal for the military.

For Air Forces around the world also, pilots and engineers are requires. It is a considerably risky career, especially the pilots. However, it might be considered a much honorable to be an airline soldier. The intake to become the military pilot or an engineer is usually through the State-run (Government funded) institutions which are set up at various places in almost all the countries.

An aerospace career may also be hospitality based, with flight stewards and air hostesses being a common sought out profession. Unlike a technical career, this one doesn’t require high education. It can be pursued with a basic schooling along with a course from an institute. Special courses are there which mainly focus on aspects like personality development, hospitality, etc. Impressive personality and looks are important criteria in this field.

Aerospace engineering is a wide field with various applications. Those who love physics and truly enjoy research based on subjects are ideal candidates for the field.

Two broad categories define aerospace engineering

• Aeronautics: – It is the field of engineering where the work is in or around the functional area. It deals with air transportation in earth’s atmosphere.

• Astronautics: – It is the field of engineering where the work is out of the functional area, mostly in laboratories. It deals with space studies.

These two fields both require different set of skills; however, they require very good physics and mathematics. The aeronautics requires good communication and language skills too. Aviation career education generally comprises of a college, and working knowledge as a trainee or a student in the industry.

Education

A bachelor’s degree is required in aeronautical engineering, with a strong educational background comprising physics, mathematics, and chemistry. The basic education is an important indicator of whether one can do well in the field because the field heavily uses physics and mathematics and if one doesn’t enjoy the subjects, he may not enjoy working.

For astronautics, education is a more, and hard. It requires a minimum of doctorate. Bachelors and masters degree is a must, and may be done in multiple disciplines of interest. Physics, chemistry, and mathematics are the basic subjects, but it comes to lot finer and specialized fields in the end. It may take years to complete the studies, which also involves analysis of history of astronautics.

Experience

For aeronautics, the aviation career education generally takes three to five years after high school. To get a license of working as an aeronautical engineer, a further three to four years experience is sought. Some companies may hire trainees which combine as work experience and some basic salary is provided too. The work experience is followed by licensing of an aeronautical engineer.

For astronautics, education takes long years, and the earnings are to be managed by the student himself along with studies. Although astronautics itself is a specialized field, there are several specializations within it. Example:

• Astrodynamics

• Spacecraft Propulsion

• Spacecraft Design

• Controls

• Space Environment

Aviation career education is an important step for a career filled with challenges and research. It requires research oriented people, and the use of gray cells is immense.

The world is ever changing, ever shrinking. The credit goes to transport and communication. The fastest means of transport is through the air, and because it’s fast it’s costlier than others. Also, the different jobs are more demanding than a lot of their grounded counterparts. Therefore, it is considered a taxing but a paying career.

When considering aviations and aerospace, the first job that one thinks of is of pilots. A pilot license after college is what most companies require, though college isn’t mandatory. There are two kinds of licences; commercial and private pilot. Both cater to different demands. The basic requirements are usually sharp mathematics and physics, a perfect eyesight and good physical and mental health. It may seem fun, but can actually be taxing.

The most glamorous jobs provided by the industry are of Flight Stewards and Air Hostesses. The pre-requisites are often ranging from impressive looks to attractive personality. The education isn’t very important. There are many courses available just after passing out, so college isn’t absolutely necessary. Airline regulations, CRP, first aid, etc are an important part of developing into an airline attendant and hence must be taken at some stage of education.

Pilots and attendants are like star cast of a film who just display the work of a more qualified ground team. Airline mechanics is an important post which is to make sure if the planes are safe for flight. It then moves on to inspectors. Traffic controllers in aviations and aerospace manage the airport traffic and are responsible of giving the right signals to the pilots. There are various other technical aspects which require some or the other engineering background like flight engineers, avionics technicians, avionics technologists, and astronauts.

Astronauts usually require the most education of the group, and they might be required to do a pH D or a research field in some specialization of Physics.

Aviations and aerospace provides with the bunch of jobs and opportunities, and with the world further coming closer, and commerce breaking borders, as also sports and tourism, this field can only grow.

Financially too, it is a very rewarding job line, with pilots earning the most, followed by astronauts, attendants and engineers. Experience also counts in the field along with education.

Aviation, as the word suggests, refers to the science of flying of objects, usually dealing with objects heavier than air. The term aviation comes from Latin word avis meaning bird. Aviation has developed from hot air balloons used for military surveillance to modern aircrafts which include fighter planes and even modern spacecraft.

Aviation maintenance may refer to aircraft maintenance or spacecraft maintenance. Aircraft comes under aeronautics and spacecraft comes under astronautics. Aeronautics usually refers to the flying of objects in earth’s atmosphere for commerce, tourism, and military purposes. Astronautics refers to research, and deployment of spacecrafts for study of the outer space or reception of satellite signals to provide news and various means of communication.

Aircraft maintenance requires an aircraft maintenance engineer. There are three categories of maintenance engineers basically: maintenance, structures, and, avionics. Maintenance, as the name suggests, refers to maintenance, repairs, and other aspects of the aircraft and make them available for flying. Structures engineer assesses, fabricates, and repairs the design of aircraft. The third field, avionics, is a fusion of aviation and electronics, and an engineer such certified is responsible for the electronic equipments in and around the aircraft and thus managing them for their working, carrying out repairs and maintenances.

The interested candidates for aircraft maintenance may take up the course of interest in any of the fields. All the fields offer options of part-time and full-time courses, and degrees and diplomas are both provided. The educational background required is often just the schooling with physics and mathematics as strong subjects. In case of Masters Degree or diploma, it requires bachelor’s degree in some discipline, however Physics and Mathematics are again important for the same.

Aircraft maintenance is a highly specialized field and therefore it requires monitoring. Some important regulatory authorities worldwide are:

• Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) Australia

• European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Europe

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) United States

• Transport Canada (TC) Canada

Spacecraft maintenance is another very specialized field. The education one needs is mostly the doctorate to enter the research laboratories and the equipments of space research and the spacecraft. It may take years of education with work experience at various levels to reach the spacecraft maintenance. Mostly, the education is provided by government-run or government-funded institutions, at least at the last stage of education. The reason is that its often very costly and out of the domain of private companies to fund the institutions.

Aviation or the science of flying of heavier than air objects (Latin Avis meaning bird) is considered to be a very technical field. There are various specialized fields within aviation, which includes pilots, technicians, engineers, maintenance staff, etc. However, amid all these technical staff, there is a need to manage the airports, small or big, and regulate various proceedings of the same.

Here, one needs a definition of aviation management. What is aviation management? It is the field which includes various disciplines of management to oversee the work of the technical staff and ensure security, safety, and smooth passage of day to day works of airports respecting various rules and laws of city, state, country, or federal laws.

An airport manager is the one who oversees various activities of the airport and maintains smoothness of working of an airport. He also hires and logs the work of various technical staff in the field. It is an important field of work because an airport may be compared with a beehive, with many bees coming and going out of a densely populated area of bees. Bees here are aircrafts and the only means of controlling them and making them run smooth is by managing their functioning which requires a specialized field of management.

Now that the answer to what is aviation management is clear, how to get into the field is another question. There are two levels of education that one may undertake to enter the industry. The first may be a bachelor’s degree in aviation management. If bachelor’s degree is in some other discipline, there are masters of management in aviations. One may do both he bachelors and masters degree too.

After the education, an internship is required. Many aviation companies hire management interns which give them the working knowledge of the field, and also combine as the work experience. After the internship is complete, there are again two options. One is to continue work in the field as a management graduate. The other could be joining a professional organization which may then help in getting professional certifications. A professional certification enables one to get better jobs, and career options are definitely boosted. Most certifications will require a minimum of two years of work experience which may differ according to different places. Assessing various details of an applicant, an application may be accepted or rejected.

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.