Manufacturing Engineer

Description: Manufacturing engineers who work in the aerospace field conduct research, build and design parts, and develop hardware for the manufacturing of satellite systems.

Knowledge Required: Manufacturing engineers must use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to identify problems and potential solutions, use verbal and written communication to interact with supervisors and coworkers, and persevere through challenging situations.

Skills:Analytical and critical thinking skills, troubleshooting, business management, mathematics, verbal and written communication, and collaboration.

Career Path: Satellite engineers often complete a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering or a related engineering field. As an engineer’s career progresses, many obtain a professional engineer license.

Best Cities for this job: Phoenix, San Diego, Palo Alto, Chicago, and Wichita are the top cities for manufacturing engineers specifying in aerospace.

Median Annual Income: National: $59,242. CA: $88,000

Future Growth: Employment of aerospace engineers is expected to grow 5 percent from 2010 to 2020.

From the field:”It’s great to know you had a hand in a satellite people depend on every day.” – Joenel Johnson, Senior Manufacturing Engineer

Did You Know?: There are approximately 3000 satellites operating in Earth’s orbit out of roughly 8000 man-made objects in total.