Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-2011

Best degree programs for Aerospace Engineers, ranked by enrollment

Q: What degree do you need to become an Aerospace Engineer?

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Mechanical Engineering, which awarded 43,624 degrees in 2024-25, 54.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Q: Which college majors lead to becoming an Aerospace Engineer?

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Mechanical Engineering, Electrical, Aerospace. Together they graduate about 80,352 people a year.

Q: How much do aerospace engineers earn?

The median is $134,960 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $86,700 at the 10th percentile to $205,890 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Q: Is demand for aerospace engineers growing?

BLS projects a +6.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 4,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

Q: How many schools offer programs for this career?

495 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

Q: What other job titles do aerospace engineers work under?

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Design Engineer, Systems Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Flight Test Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2011.

5 college programs and 495 schools train Aerospace Engineers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $134,960 median wage, 67,710 U.S. jobs. Federal data.

5 college programs at 495 schools train aerospace engineers, graduating 80,352 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Mechanical Engineering. The job pays a median of $134,960 (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Graduates / yr

80,352

from every feeder program

Median annual wage

$134,960

BLS OEWS May 2025

Projected growth

+6.1%

Faster than average

Openings / yr

4,500

new plus replacement

Schools

495

with a feeder program

States with jobs

BLS reports wages

About aerospace engineers

Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques.

Also calledDesign EngineerSystems EngineerAerospace EngineerFlight Test EngineerEngineerDynamicistTest AnalystTest EngineerAerodynamicistDesign AnalystField EngineerFlight Analyst

Fields of study that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.

Engineering

CIP 14.19

Mechanical Engineering

43,624graduates / yr

440 schools · 1 specialization · 54.3% of pipeline

Grad earnings $70,724

425 schools · 1 specialization · 33.1% of pipeline

Grad earnings $77,636

97 schools · 3 specializations · 12.6% of pipeline

Grad earnings $72,210

5 degree programs that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#	Program	Graduates / yr	Share of pipeline	Schools	Grad earnings (1 yr)	Median debt
1	Mechanical Engineering CIP 14.1901	43,624	54.3%	440	$70,724	$24,833
2	Electrical and Electronics Engineering CIP 14.1001	26,622	33.1%	425	$77,636	$25,000
3	Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, Generalmain feeder CIP 14.0201	10,097	12.6%	97	$72,210	$25,000
4	Astronautical Engineeringmain feeder CIP 14.0202	8	0.0%	1	$72,210	$25,000
5	Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, Othermain feeder CIP 14.0299	1	0.0%	1	$72,210	$25,000

Top 50 schools by graduates into this job

Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#	School	Graduates / yr	Top feeder program	Grad rate	Net price	Acceptance
1	Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 3 feeder programs	2,487	Mechanical Engineering	83%	—	50%
2	Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA Public · 3 feeder programs	2,042	Mechanical Engineering	94%	—	14%
3	Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · 3 feeder programs	1,407	Mechanical Engineering	84%	—	57%
4	University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	1,184	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	93%	—	11%
5	University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 3 feeder programs	1,167	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	85%	—	42%
6	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO Public · 3 feeder programs	1,091	Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General	74%	—	78%
7	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ Public · 3 feeder programs	1,061	Mechanical Engineering	68%	—	90%
8	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs	1,018	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	94%	$23,803	12%
9	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 3 feeder programs	947	Mechanical Engineering	89%	—	27%
10	University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 3 feeder programs	926	Mechanical Engineering	91%	—	24%
11	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL Public · 3 feeder programs	919	Mechanical Engineering	78%	—	40%
12	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 3 feeder programs	912	Mechanical Engineering	86%	—	55%
13	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 3 feeder programs	894	Mechanical Engineering	85%	—	42%
14	Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 3 feeder programs	879	Mechanical Engineering	86%	—	61%
15	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 3 feeder programs	860	Mechanical Engineering	93%	—	16%
16	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs	827	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	92%	$26,873	10%
17	Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 3 feeder programs	813	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	88%	—	61%
18	University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	758	Mechanical Engineering	86%	—	27%
19	University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	753	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	93%	—	9%
20	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs	708	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	94%	$11,888	6%
21	University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD Public · 3 feeder programs	693	Mechanical Engineering	89%	—	45%
22	University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 3 feeder programs	679	Mechanical Engineering	85%	—	39%
23	Northeastern University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs	676	Mechanical Engineering	91%	$18,925	5%
24	Iowa State University Ames, IA Public · 3 feeder programs	661	Mechanical Engineering	75%	—	89%
25	California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	635	Mechanical Engineering	86%	—	31%
26	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs	620	Mechanical Engineering	96%	$11,666	5%
27	University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH Public · 3 feeder programs	620	Mechanical Engineering	75%	—	85%
28	Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs	613	Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General	67%	$38,899	65%
29	Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs	607	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	92%	$12,032	4%
30	California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	605	Mechanical Engineering	68%	—	75%
31	Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs	605	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	95%	$17,613	9%
32	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO Public · 2 feeder programs	597	Mechanical Engineering	82%	—	61%
33	Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ Public · 3 feeder programs	567	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	84%	—	58%
34	University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · 2 feeder programs	553	Mechanical Engineering	90%	—	45%
35	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs	553	Mechanical Engineering	90%	$32,926	60%
36	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR Public · 2 feeder programs	551	Mechanical Engineering	70%	—	77%
37	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN Public · 3 feeder programs	542	Mechanical Engineering	85%	—	80%
38	San Jose State University San Jose, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	537	Mechanical Engineering	69%	—	85%
39	University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	527	Mechanical Engineering	87%	—	29%
40	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Public · 2 feeder programs	510	Mechanical Engineering	69%	—	73%
41	California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	508	Mechanical Engineering	69%	—	46%
42	Auburn University Auburn, AL Public · 3 feeder programs	479	Mechanical Engineering	82%	—	46%
43	San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 3 feeder programs	469	Mechanical Engineering	76%	—	36%
44	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs	463	Electrical and Electronics Engineering	96%	$15,315	4%
45	Clemson University Clemson, SC Public · 2 feeder programs	462	Mechanical Engineering	87%	—	38%
46	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX Public · 2 feeder programs	451	Mechanical Engineering	76%	—	65%
47	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs	443	Mechanical Engineering	84%	$28,900	63%
48	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS Public · 3 feeder programs	441	Mechanical Engineering	67%	—	78%
49	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY Public · 3 feeder programs	441	Mechanical Engineering	75%	—	74%
50	University of Houston Houston, TX Public · 4 feeder programs	441	Mechanical Engineering	65%	—	74%

What aerospace engineers earn

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual wage

$134,960

Mean annual

$142,060

Median hourly

$64.89/hr

People employed

67,710

What the range looks like

10th pct$86,700Median$134,96090th pct$205,890

Top-paying states

Top-paying metro areas

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

$191,260median

510 jobs

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

$181,630median

930 jobs

Omaha, NE-IA

$171,380median

—

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

$166,420median

2,420 jobs

Boulder, CO

$167,160median

800 jobs

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

$166,980median

1,220 jobs

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

$163,280median

5,200 jobs

Colorado Springs, CO

$151,980median

990 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34

+6.1%

Faster than average

Openings per year

4,500

new jobs plus replacements

Employment change

4,400

71,600 → 75,900

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

Where the jobs are, state by state

Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.

This occupation state by state: pay, jobs, and schools
State	Median pay	Jobs	Concentration	Schools	Graduates / yr
California	$157,620	9,170	1.16×	38	10,541
Texas	$130,270	6,750	1.10×	42	6,458
Florida	$129,280	3,250	0.75×	18	4,641
New York	$130,330	560	0.13×	27	4,608
Pennsylvania	$133,940	990	0.38×	37	4,113
Massachusetts	$149,470	990	0.63×	14	3,527
Ohio	$138,440	3,710	1.53×	22	3,380
Indiana	$107,400	440	0.32×	15	3,323
Michigan	$128,960	—	—	18	3,187
Georgia	$140,460	2,230	1.05×	5	2,792
Illinois	$108,940	200	0.07×	14	2,481
Colorado	$156,190	4,070	3.25×	11	2,386
Arizona	$123,170	3,110	2.21×	6	1,947
Virginia	$143,210	2,540	1.42×	9	1,737
Maryland	$156,750	3,180	2.64×	11	1,733
New Jersey	$126,430	3,400	1.82×	7	1,732
North Carolina	$122,930	650	0.30×	7	1,686
Alabama	$127,540	5,820	6.32×	7	1,522
Washington	$158,370	5,760	3.73×	27	1,510
Wisconsin	$88,400	120	0.10×	7	1,273
Utah	$135,840	1,010	1.33×	9	1,167
Missouri	$130,680	650	0.51×	7	1,114
Tennessee	$128,510	610	0.43×	13	1,008
Minnesota	$159,060	140	0.11×	7	923
Oklahoma	$125,470	1,090	1.46×	6	883
Iowa	—	40	0.07×	6	875
Oregon	$124,630	250	0.30×	7	868
South Carolina	$137,030	650	0.64×	7	787
Connecticut	$129,500	1,160	1.57×	10	750
Kansas	$130,330	1,730	2.76×	5	712
Mississippi	$109,200	90	0.19×	6	593
New Mexicomoderate	$132,850	570	1.51×	4	568
Louisiana	$136,970	90	0.10×	7	533
Kentuckymoderate	$126,130	290	0.34×	4	482
Idaho	$95,700	190	0.50×	5	473
Arkansas	$102,040	180	0.31×	7	377
Nevadalimited	$96,730	270	0.40×	2	364
District of Columbiamoderate	$157,600	290	0.96×	4	265
Nebraskalimited	$135,670	130	0.29×	1	199
Hawaiilimited	$137,240	40	0.14×	2	161
New Hampshirelimited	—	40	0.14×	2	150
Vermontmoderate	$144,400	100	0.74×	3	134
Alaskalimited	$101,710	100	0.68×	2	75

Skills and tools

From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.

What they do day to day

Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
Plan or coordinate investigation and resolution of customers' reports of technical problems with aircraft or aerospace vehicles.
Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
Develop design criteria for aeronautical or aerospace products or systems, including testing methods, production costs, quality standards, environmental standards, or completion dates.

Skills

Critical Thinking4.1
Science4.0
Reading Comprehension4.0
Speaking3.9
Writing3.9
Active Listening3.9
Mathematics3.9
Monitoring3.8

Knowledge areas

Engineering and Technology4.8
Mathematics4.3
Design4.1
Physics4.0
Computers and Electronics3.9
English Language3.8

Abilities

Written Comprehension4.1
Information Ordering4.0
Inductive Reasoning4.0
Deductive Reasoning4.0
Problem Sensitivity4.0
Oral Comprehension3.9

Core activities

Working with Computers4.9
Processing Information4.5
Analyzing Data or Information4.5
Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.4
Getting Information4.4

Tools and technology

hotmarks an O*NET hot technology

Autodesk AutoCADhotChotC#hotC++hotDassault Systemes SolidWorkshotExtensible markup language XMLhotLinuxhotMicrosoft AccesshotMicrosoft ExcelhotMicrosoft Office softwarehot

How to get in

How to become a Aerospace Engineer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0

Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 5 majors mapped to Aerospace Engineers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+

14.0201Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General
14.0202Astronautical Engineering
14.0299Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, Other
14.1001Electrical and Electronics Engineering
14.1901Mechanical Engineering

Related careers

Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.

17-3021

Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

$82,89011,280 jobs+8.1%

17-3024

Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians

$73,90015,520 jobs+1.1%

49-2091

Avionics Technicians

$82,28018,830 jobs+8.2%

17-3027

Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians

$74,51036,190 jobs0.0%

17-2141

Mechanical Engineers

$104,110296,810 jobs+9.1%

49-3011

Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians

$79,870138,090 jobs+4.0%

Common questions

What degree do you need to become an Aerospace Engineer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Mechanical Engineering, which awarded 43,624 degrees in 2024-25, 54.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Aerospace Engineer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Mechanical Engineering, Electrical, Aerospace. Together they graduate about 80,352 people a year.

How much do aerospace engineers earn?+

The median is $134,960 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $86,700 at the 10th percentile to $205,890 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for aerospace engineers growing?+

BLS projects a +6.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 4,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career?+

495 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do aerospace engineers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Design Engineer, Systems Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Flight Test Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-2011.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025
Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
Official source →
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34
Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
Official source →
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)
Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
Official source →
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohorts
Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Official source →
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest available
Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
Official source →
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018
Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
Official source →
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3
Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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Best degree programs for Aerospace Engineers, ranked by enrollment

About aerospace engineers

Fields of study that lead to this job

5 degree programs that lead to this job

Top 50 schools by graduates into this job

What aerospace engineers earn

Top-paying states

Top-paying metro areas

Job outlook

Where the jobs are, state by state

Skills and tools

What they do day to day

Skills

Knowledge areas

Abilities

Core activities

Tools and technology

How to get in

How to become a Aerospace Engineer

Every major mapped to this job

Related careers

Common questions

BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

BLS Employment Projections

IPEDS Completions

College Scorecard, Field of Study

Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

O*NET Database 30.3

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation