All the questions on this page have been answered by Jill Marlowe, who is the Head of the Mechanical Design Branch (LaRC only). When an answer says "I think this" or "I did that", it refers to her background and opinions.

Site last reviewed: January 5, 2004
Responsible NASA Official & Site Curator: Drew Hope, Head, Mechanical Design Branch, Systems Engineering Competency, d.j.hope@larc.nasa.gov, (757) 864-7278
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Interview Questions:

Discuss my job…

Describe the benefits and compensation…

Describe the work environment...

How can I get a job in this field...

What high school classes would you recommend a student take to prepare for this occupation?

What sort of college degree would I need to work in this field?

How exactly does NASA find their job applicants?

Are there any special requirements needed in this occupation (such as typing skills, etc.)? Any special abilities required?

How much communication skills are needed or would be helpful?

Are there any age, sex, weight, height, or other physical requirements necessary for getting this job?

Were there any tests or licenses you had to get before you became an aerospace engineer?

What are the costs involved in getting ready to get this job?

Is some kind of supervised work experience necessary for getting a job?

What are the educational requirements to stay in the job?

What are the educational requirements for advancement?

Do you know any scientists that do this kind of job (aerospace engineer)?

Do you join a union to get this kind of work?

Give my thoughts about my job...…

Let's get personal…

Give advice to future aerospace engineers...

Discuss my job…
Describe the duties and responsibilities of someone working in aerospace engineering. What are some specific jobs in this field?
There are many different duties for people in the aerospace engineering field, and you might want to think about which part of the field best suits you. First, there are the aerospace scientists; these are the people who ask basic science questions about space or the earth's atmosphere and think of experiments that they would like to conduct to help them answer these questions. There are, of course, the aerospace engineers, who actually create conceptual designs of spacecraft, launch vehicles, aerospace instruments, planes, satellites, circuit boards, etc. Within the broad category of "aerospace engineer", there are structural analysts, thermal analysts, mechanical designers, electrical designers, environmental test engineers, orbital mechanics engineers, loads analysts, and probably half a dozen other specialties that I haven't listed. There are software engineers, who write the software that either makes the space instrument take its measurements and return data to earth, or make control surfaces on planes respond to the pilots commands. There are also engineering technicians, who perform drafting, execute environmental tests (we call it "shaking and baking the hardware"), operate wind tunnels, etc. Then there are the resource analysts, who look at schedule and money issues who help to keep projects on time and under budget. There are also fabrication technicians, who actually build the hardware. Also, there are the project managers who usually start out in any of these fields and lead projects toward the end of their careers after they have substantial experience. There are test pilots and aircraft maintenance folks that fly experimental aircraft or lower atmosphere experiments. Finally, let's not forget the astronauts; most astronauts are medical doctors, pilots, or research scientists who have participated on aerospace projects in one of these disciplines before they started their astronaut training. All of these disciplines work together on successful aerospace projects, and each have their own educational requirements.
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Exactly what part of NASA do you work for?
I work at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Langley is primarily an aeronautics center, but over the last several years, we have been working hard in aerospace transportation (particularly hypersonics and aerobraking/planetary capture) and we have a very long history of excellence in atmospheric science. You can find out more about Langley at http://www.larc.nasa.gov/
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How many people work for your NASA center?
About 2300 civil servants, and about 1500 contractors.
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What is your specialty in aerospace engineering? What do you work on mostly?
I started my career as a structural analyst in the Structural & Thermal Analysis Branch at NASA's Langley Research Center, and I'll answer this question as if that were still my job (I'm a manager now).

My job is essentially to figure out whether space experiments, wind tunnel models, aircraft experiments or aircraft will break while they are being used. Usually, this means I determine the stresses and deflections of the structure under whatever loading is appropriate (like launch loads from shuttle) and I determine the structure's dynamic behavior (what the structure will do while its moving). If I find that the structure will break, then I recommend changes to the design, and work with the other engineers to find a design that will work. The tools of my job are a UNIX workstation, which I use for finite element analysis, a PC, which I use for writing reports and creating presentations, and also pencil/paper for regular old math equations. On a normal day, I spend about 6 hours on a workstation, an hour or so in meetings, and an hour on the PC.
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What are some of the projects you do in NASA?
For most of the time I have been at Langley Research Center, I have been a structural analyst. My job is essentially to figure out whether space experiments, wind tunnel models, aircraft experiments or aircraft will break while they are being used. Usually, this means I determine the stresses and deflections of the structure under whatever loading is appropriate (like launch loads from shuttle) and I determine the structure's dynamic behavior (what the structure will do while its moving). If I find that the structure will break, then I recommend changes to the design, and work with the other engineers to find a design that will work. Some of the projects I have worked on have been SAGE III (an atmospheric science instrument that will measure gases like ozone in the upper atmosphere when it launches in 2001), LITE (a laser experiment that flew on Shuttle), SEDS (the first successful tethered payload experiment), MIDAS (a payload on MIR), and several aeronautics programs, including the High Speed Research project.
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What is your daily routine?
When I did pure engineering, my schedule depended on what phase the project was in. Basically, I would take the first half hour or so of my day and read/respond to email and phone mail. Then, I would get down to work. If I was in the initial phases of a project, I might meet with the design engineer or other team members to discuss inputs to my analyses. If the project was in detail design, I would get into the details of my analyses and results assessment. If the project was conducting testing, I would support the tests and look at test results as they were produced and relate them to my analytical predictions. If the project was approaching a formal design review, I would spend my time documenting results and preparing presentations. On any day, I would attend project meetings as they were scheduled to discuss my status and present any concerns I might have; I would attend staff meetings to hear organizational news and discuss my technical problems with my fellow structural analysts.
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Do you have assignments that seem to drag on for ever, often?
No, even projects that we work on for years go through phases, so my individual responsibilities on a project change with time. The dynamic nature of the work is one of the things I like about this job. It is definitely NOT repetitive. However, it does often seem that some projects never finish; typically we think we're done after a space experiment has flown, but it seems like a researcher pops out of nowhere and decides that they need to refly it to take more data or do a follow up experiment. Sort of the nature of the research beast!
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How much of your time is spent at a computer? Writing? Etc...
On a typical day, maybe 7 out of 8 hours is spent on a computer, either performing analyses or documenting them. I might spend a month out of the year supporting testing in a laboratory or traveling to a contractor site. I probably spend another 2-3 weeks per year in training classes. I probably spend about a month per year documenting my work, either in NASA reports or conference papers or presentations.
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Does the job mainly deal with data, people, or things? Explain.
At different times during a project, the job deals with each of these. In the beginning, before the engineering team has a clear idea of what an experiment will look like, the emphasis is on people since we spend the bulk of our time in meetings, interacting, and doing trade studies. Once a concept has been identified, my job switches emphasis to data as I perform structural analyses to determine whether the part(s) will break during operation. Finally, at the end of the project, the emphasis switches to things, since we are usually testing the items that have been built and comparing the results back to the analytical predictions.
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How is mathematics specifically involved with your career?
Math is the entire foundation of my career! Especially in my particular area of structural analysis, math comes first, followed closely by physics. In every problem that I work in structural analysis, the first thing that we do is take the real structure and break it up into smaller, better understood structures. For example, in a building, you might break it up into floors, walls, roof, etc., and then take the floor and break it up into the beams and flooring sheets. Often, using calculus equations, you can solve math equations based on basic physics to predict how much one of these floor beams would deflect under a certain load. When you need to investigate the entire system (all the beams plus the flooring, plus the walls, roof, etc.), you assemble all the equations together into a large matrix equation. And then because big matrices can be difficult to solve, you often use other math tricks to develop numerical solutions to solve the equations on computers. People who don't like math should stay clear of this job!!!
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Are there any specific tools and equipment required for your job?
These days, most engineering work is done on a computer. Around here, we use high-powered graphics workstations and NT workstations. We use the computers to do CAD (computer aided design/drafting) / CAE (computer aided engineering - such as analysis) / CAM (computer aided manufacturing). We also publish a list of the software packages that we use to do our jobs.
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What are the advantages of this occupation?
The sky is the limit! My work is different every day, and changes from year to year. This is necessary for me since I get bored easily. The work is challenging (which keeps boredom away). I get to work on things that really make a difference to people; it might be a space instrument to measure atmospheric pollution or an improvement to an aircraft that might ultimately allow the price of an airline ticket to go down. And of course, the job pays pretty well. :)
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What are the disadvantages of this occupation?
I'd say the biggest disadvantage is that it is a relatively small field, and the number of companies in the field is getting smaller (lots of mergers between big companies in the news lately). Also, this used to be a field where America basically had 90% of the market, but now foreign companies are catching up; this means that American companies are streamlining their organizations in order to be competitive.
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What advancement opportunities are there?
There are plenty of advancement opportunities. I'd hazard a guess that most folks actually only do pure engineering work for 15 or so years before they move on to project management or organizational management. In project management, you lead a team of engineers from the different disciplines (electrical, software, mechanical, optics, orbital mechanics, etc.) to produce a single focused product. In organizational management, you lead a team of engineers from the same discipline to make sure that all the projects are adequately staffed, the engineers have adequate tools, and the engineers continue to grow/learn as the discipline changes.
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Do many aerospace engineers become astronauts?
Not very many people become astronauts, so not very many aerospace engineers become astronauts either. It is a very competitive process to be selected for the astronaut corps. The people selected are usually aerospace engineers, medical doctors, or pilots. To learn more about the astronaut program, please visit:
NASA Astronaut Selection Program
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What are the fringe benefits of aerospace engineering?
Good pay, good promotion potential, travel, respect from the community at large, and you get to say that you are a rocket scientist!
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Are employers evenly distributed or are they concentrated in certain areas of the country?
There probably are opportunities for aerospace engineers in most parts of the country, but there are certainly areas where opportunities are easier to find. Places like southern California, St. Louis, Washington state, etc., near one of the major aerospace employers probably have more opportunities. Also, the Washington D.C. area has numerous federal contractors which provide alot of opportunity. However, opportunities are certainly not limited to these areas; there are employers, some larger than others, in most major cities.
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Who employs the most workers: private industry, self-employed engineers or government?
I have no data to give you an accurate answer, but my guess would be that private industry employs the most aerospace engineers. Additionally, the large companies hire a large number of "job-shoppers", people who are basically self-employed engineers for hire, who are hired when demand is high and fired on a moment's notice. These people are paid high salaries and generally have significant experience, and the risk they take is not knowing whether they will be employed tomorrow. The government also hires a significant number of aerospace engineers, but I think the number is likely comparable to the self-employment category.
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Is it possible to work 20+ years in this job field?
Yes, many of my peers have worked 35-45 years before retiring! Of course, they have learned many new skills over the course of their careers, and I would say very few of them are doing exactly the same thing now that they did when they started in aerospace engineering.
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Describe the benefits and compensation...…
What would you say your salary range would be in high, medium, or low?
Compared to what? Compared to the population in general, I'd say aerospace engineers are paid quite well. Amongst engineers, aerospace engineers do fairly well. And among aerospace engineers, those of us who work for the government probably do about average (if you only compare salary dollars, but the benefits more than make up for that, in my humble opinion).
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What are the beginning, average, and top pay one could expect to earn working in aerospace engineering?
Starting salaries these days (1999) are in the $38-$45K range. Average salaries for mid career folks are $60K-$70K. Top salaries depend upon responsibilities; higher managers and project leaders make six figures. One thing to remember is that salary isn’t everything in terms of compensation; you also have to factor in how many hours per week you will be expected to work, whether you will have to work night shifts, whether you will be expected to travel a lot, how much sick and vacation time you get, whether your company will pay for graduate education, what the health/life insurance benefits are like, and what the retirement benefits (401K, pension, stock options, etc.) are like. In aerospace engineering, you can find jobs that run the full range of possibilities in all of these categories.
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When new Aerospace Engineers are hired at NASA what is the exact starting wage?
No firm answer on this one, because many factors go into determining the starting salary for each individual. But generally speaking, a person graduating with a BS in engineering with no experience will be hired as a GS-7, step 1. The GS salary tables can be found on the OPM web site.
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What is the whole thing about grades (ie: GS-11, GS-12) in the US government? Which grades are astronauts, and aerospace engineers like yourself?
The grades generally correlate with years of experience. A person with a BS in aerospace and no experience would start as a GS-7; MS and no experience a GS-11, and a PhD and no experience a GS-12. GS-13 is referred to as "journeyman" which means that you are expected to independently perform the duties of the job at that level. GS-14 and GS-15 are for senior engineers and/or project managers. Since astronauts tend to be selected from senior engineers and military, they are higher ranking.
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Does where you live make a difference for what salary you get?
Yes, salaries tend to be adjusted for the cost-of-living for that region. Check out Monster City Comparison to see the effect this can have.
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Is there over-time pay or ways to earn extra money?
This depends on the company you work for, and whether you are an exempt or non-exempt employee. Exempt employees are paid a salary, which generally means that you are paid a fixed annual amount regardless of how much you work. Exempt employees are usually more senior. Compensation policies for non-exempt employees vary from company to company. At NASA, engineers are compensated for any extra hours we work by banking them as either "credit time" or "compensatory time", and we take these hours as vacation later on.
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What are the average hours one would expect to work per week?
It depends upon the company you work for, which I suspect is true of most occupations. We do have a couple of people who work part-time, at 30 hrs/week, and it is not unheard of for people in private industry to put in >80 hr/wk. The normal work week for folks in my division at NASA is 40-45 hours. Any time we put in over 40 hours we store in a vacation bank, and we can take the time as leave later on. Nice benefit!
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When do you work? What hours of the day are the jobs done?
At NASA Langley, we have a "variable day" schedule. We must be at work between 9:00-3:00 each day, and we must work at least 40 hours per week. Beyond that, the individual can modify their work shifts to accomodate their personal schedule. Some people arrive to work at 6:30AM and leave around 3:00, and others get in at 9:00AM and stay later. Of course, there are times, when testing is going on or when we are traveling, for example, when we may be required to work at night or for extremely long days.
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How much vacation is there and when can you take it?
The federal government's vacation benefits are terrific. Employees start with 13 days/year, and then earn 20 days/year (4 weeks) after 3 years of employment. After 15 years of employment, employees get 6 weeks/year of annual leave. Employees can "carry over" 240 hours of leave from calendar year to calendar year; if they don't use all of their leave resulting in more than 240 hours of leave on the books, they either lose the leave or can donate it to people in need. Sick leave accrues separately. In general, employees are expected to take the leave when it will minimally impact the project(s) they are working; if the project they are working on is so critical that they can not take their leave, the project can arrange for it to be exempted from the 240 hour rule until the employee can take it. For most employees this is not a problem.
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How long is it before you can get promoted?
Again, it depends upon the company you work for. At both General Dynamics and NASA, "fresh-outs" (people hired fresh out of college with no practical experience) are hired on as a lower level engineer. At GD, this position was called "Associate Engineer" and at NASA Langley, this position is a GS-7 engineer. At both companies, the first year of employment involves a significant amount of on the job training and performance evaluation; if the year is successfully completed, it results in a promotion with a salary increase. At GD, I was assigned to a senior engineer for the first year and was promoted to "Engineer" at the end of the period. At NASA Langley, new engineers work on a small research project of their own for a year, and, at the end of the year, present their work to senior managers who vote on whether to promote the candidate to GS-9. After this first year, the competition for promotions at both employers increases. At GD, all "Engineers" in an organization were ranked based on performance and the top people were promoted; it normally took about five years to be promoted from "Engineer" to "Senior Engineer". At NASA, there are smaller, incremental promotions (from GS-9 to 11, from GS-11 to 12, from GS-12 to 13) that are competed amongst engineers in an organization; the speed at which a person can obtain these promotions is based on performance. At both employers, an engineer might remain at the journeyman (a way of saying that you are competent to independently perform your work) level engineering position ("Engineer" or GS-13) for quite some time, since promotions beyond that level are fiercely competitive and require exceptional performance.
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Is further education offered at where you work?
Yes, yes, yes!! As you probably would expect, NASA strongly encourages people to pursue graduate education, and they fully fund the tuition for qualifying employees and pay them full salary while they are in school. This is one of the most attractive benefits that NASA offers, and most of the engineers that I know have taken advantage of this program. Beyond graduate studies, NASA also provides ample opportunities for short courses and professional development classes (like a training course in a specific software package). In my specialty area of structural analysis, NASA pays our primary software vendor to come to our workplace and teach three advanced courses on how to use their software for specific applications each year.
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Do you have to travel? If so, how often? Do you get extra pay?
Yes, I do occasionally have to travel, on the order of 4-5 times per year. However, the amount of travel is dependent on the particular project; some projects involve partnerships with distant companies or foreign entities, so they require more travel. In general, there is no "extra pay" for traveling; if you are smart about how you organize your trip you might get paid for some of the hours while you're on the plane, but usually this cannot be arranged. While on travel, all of our travel expenses (including a per diem rate for food) are reimbursed.
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Do you get any retirement benefits?
Most companies do offer retirement benefits, but I can only speak about the details of the government's retirement system. Employees entering federal service now are covered under the Federal Employee's Retierement System (FERS), which is described at OPM's FERS Overview. Basically, we get social security, a pension, and we have an employer matched savings plan, called the Thrift Savings Plan, which work in combination to provide a retirement annuity. Also, retirees can continue to utilize health and life insurance options during retirement if they have been continuously using them for a prescribed period prior to their retirement.
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Describe the work environment...
In what kind of environment is the work done? Indoors? Outdoors?
Some of each, but largely indoor. Most of the engineering work itself is done at a desk, computer or in meetings. However, we do have to work launches and tests, which are mostly outdoors.
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What kind of organizational structure is there in the standard workplace?
Companies and organizations that perform engineering work tend to be organized either by projects, or by discipline. I was an engineering intern at McDonnel Douglas, and there they organized by project. In the same organization (division), there were people from all the technical areas or disciplines (like mechanical designers, electrical designers, analysts, loads, weights, hydraulics, etc.) that were needed to design and build the airplane we were working on. There were people doing the same kinds of work in other divisions where they were working on other airplanes. When I graduated, I worked for General Dynamics, Electric Boat Division. There we were organized by discipline, where all the people that did the same kind of work were in the same organization, and we all worked on different projects or tasks. This is also how NASA Langley's System Engineering Competency is organized. My branch is a group of people who all do structural and thermal analysis, and we are "matrixed out" to the many projects who need these services.
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Have you had any accidents while doing experiments, and do you consider this job to be hazardous to your health at times?
Structural analysis has got to be one of the safest jobs around. The hazards are eye strain, tendon problems (from typing!), and getting out of shape (because you generally sit in front of a computer most of the day)!
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Is it possible to work at home (like if you're sick)?
NASA has recently adopted a telecommuting policy that allows people to work at alternate work sites (could be your home) if they can show that they will be more productive by doing it (that's the whole point, as far as the employer is concerned!). Currently, an employee can ask to telecommute for a short-duration and/or for a specific task (like if the employee broke their leg and can't drive, and would be on sick leave otherwise), or they can ask to telecommute on a long-term basis for a short period each week (like if they have a recurring task that would be more productive to do away from the distractions at the office). In both of these situations, the employee has to essentially draft a proposal for the arrangement they want, and then they negotiate with their supervisor to reach an agreement for a telecommuting arrangement that mutually benefits the employee and NASA.
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Do you consider your working environment a great place to work?
Yes - you can't beat the federal government for work environment. We have a variable day schedule (come in/leave when you want as long as you work 40 hours), if we have to work overtime we can be compensated in vacation hours, we have on site daycare, 4 weeks vacation (maxing out at 6 weeks after 15 years), and on a daily basis, I have state-of-the-art tools and have total professional freedom on how to do my work.
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Do you work alone or near/with others?
Really some of each. Typically, aerospace engineers work in teams on projects, so I spend alot of time talking to other people (like project managers, electrical engineers, software folks, etc.) about their parts of the project to see how it affects my part of the project. I also spend a significant amount of time communicating my work to groups of people, either in status meetings or at peer reviews. I also spend time alone actually doing my work (in my case structural analysis) at the computer or my desk, and during those times I might talk to my fellow structural analysts to get their help with any problems I uncover.
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Are you friends with most of your co-workers?
Sure - are you friends with most of your classmates? Same thing!
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Does the work affect your family at home?
The government is an excellent employer, and is very family-friendly. At Langley, we normally work about 40 hours per week, we are compensated for overtime, we can telecommute, we have a flexible work day, we have on-site day care and we have generous leave policies - all of these factors translate into a very flexible work arrangement for managing your career around family. Of course, the extent to which you can take advantage of any of these items depends upon the project that you are working and your level of responsibility; it is up to the employee to work with their employer to develop a workplan that is mutually beneficial and takes into account the employee's personal priorities.
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What is your usual work dress?
Casual at the working level. Jeans w/collared shirts (polos, for example, but not T-shirts) are acceptable occassionnaly (especially for days when we are supporting testing or working late shifts). Ties and panty hose are reserved for presentations or visits with external customers. Dress gets more "business-like" the higher folks are in management, but then, that is largely because they have more interaction with external customers.
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Have you found the engineering industry to be male-dominated? If so, does this have any effect of your career? Is there any information available about multicultural aerospace engineers?
Yes, there are certainly more men than women in engineering, especially among the old-timers. I can't really make a general statement about how being a woman/minority in engineering has affected my career, as I'm not sure in the long run it really has. At different times, depending upon the people I was working with, I think I have either had it harder or easier than my male counterparts because I am a woman. But then again, I think that people often get preference (or not) because of some trait they have, like where they went to school, who they play golf with, whether they served in the military, or whatever. To me, being a woman is no different from these other distinguishing characteristics - it's just a fact of life. In general, I like to think that I and everyone I work with have basically been judged on our ability to perform as engineers, and that we have been rewarded in kind.
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How can I get a job in this field...
What high school classes would you recommend a student take to prepare for this occupation?
In high school, I would recommend taking the college prep track. This would include taking AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP English (composition), and public speaking if possible. Even if you do not take the tests and get credit for these courses in college, it will provide you with a solid foundation for your freshman year.
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What sort of college degree would I need to work in this field?
Assuming you are actually interested in being an aerospace engineer, you would need, at a minimum, a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering or Mechanical Engineering. Other engineers working in the aerospace field have Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering degrees. Here at NASA Langley Research Center, most engineers also have Master of Science degrees, and many have Ph.D.'s as well. Co-oping during your undergraduate years is an excellent way to get experience, which will help when you look for a job after graduation, and validate your choice of careers. Not to mention, it pays alot better than flipping burgers!
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How exactly does NASA find their job applicants?
Most hiring is done through the NASAJobs web site these days. Jobs are advertised on this site and applications are taken electronically.
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Are there any special requirements needed in this occupation (such as typing skills, etc.)? Any special abilities required?
Successful aerospace engineers need lots of curiosity, problem solving skills, organizational skills, written and oral communication skills, people skills (as in leading and participating in teams) and computer skills.
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How much communication skills are needed or would be helpful?
You need to be able to communicate clearly in writing and in oral presentations. Written communications are both informal and formal. A college class or two in technical writing and public speaking would definitely be beneficial.
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Are there any age, sex, weight, height, or other physical requirements necessary for getting this job?
There really are no physical requirements for being an aerospace engineer; in fact, we have many engineers with disabilities and it is not an issue for their job performance. There are no age or gender requirements either, although you will find fewer women among the older aerospace engineers. My aerospace engineering graduating class in 1988 was 10% female, and I expect that number is higher today.
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Were there any tests or licenses you had to get before you became an aerospace engineer?
None are specifically required, but you can take the EIT (Engineer in Training) exam after you get your BS (which I did), and follow up getting your PE (professional engineer) license after you have some experience. Usually, there is at least one engineer on man-rated structures that have their PE license. This is much more common in civil engineering.
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What are the costs involved in getting ready to get this job?
Basically, the price tag on getting ready to be an aerospace engineer is the cost of a Bachelor of Science program. This varies depending upon the college/university that you select, and whether you start at a community college or at the university level.
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Is some kind of supervised work experience necessary for getting a job?
Work experience is not strictly necessary, but, like any field, it certainly is helpful! Employers look quite favorably on co-op experience coupled with solid academic credentials when recruiting for new engineers fresh out of college.
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What are the educational requirements to stay in the job?
There really are no "requirements" in the job, just that you take classes as necessary to stay current. This usually includes short courses (week long classes on specialty topics, such as software packages) or selected graduate classes.
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What are the educational requirements for advancement?
Again, there really aren't any educational requirements for advancement, but the engineer who makes an effort to stay current in his field, which is partially accomplished by taking classes, will naturally be more competitive for advancement.
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Do you know any scientists that do this kind of job (aerospace engineer)?
We have a couple of people in our group who majored in physics or math in college, and then went back and did graduate work in engineering (which included a bunch of prerequisites at the undergraduate level) before starting work as an aerospace engineer. The problem is that there are certain basic engineering courses that are necessary, really fundamental, in practicing any flavor of engineering, and you generally don't have room in your course schedule to take these (there are quite a few) when you choose another major. But the folks who have this non-traditional background do bring a different point-of-view to their project teams, which is often quite valuable.
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Do you join a union to get this kind of work?
There are some aerospace engineers in unions. At NASA, the engineers at some centers (although not currently at Langley, so I don't know much about it) belong to a union for professional federal employees. However, when I worked at McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and General Dynamics, the engineers were not unionized. In any case, you can not be required to join a union as a condition of employment; the union represents all employees in a certain job classification, regardless of whether or not all those employees belong to the union, but only pays strike benefits to members.
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Give my thoughts about my job…
What do you like and what do you dislike about your job?
What do I like? My work is different every day, and changes from year to year. This is necessary for me since I get bored easily. The work is challenging (which keeps boredom away). You get to work on things that really make a difference to people; it might be a space instrument to measure atmospheric pollution or an improvement to an aircraft that might ultimately allow the price of an airline ticket to go down.

What don't I like? Hard to say. I think the things I don't like about my job are things that are common to nearly all white-collar jobs- like being stuck inside on a nice day. Sometimes the bureaucracy also gets to you (needing to know the right form for mailing a letter, for example), and this is something you run into at any large employer. But mostly, my group’s secretary keeps the rest of us straight on all the forms and procedures, and she saves our sanity.
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What is the most interesting thing about your job?
As a NASA aerospace engineer, I get to work on all kinds of projects that are in the news, like shuttle and space station, and everyone on my street wants to know about what I'm doing at work. It is really nice to work on things that people have an interest in, and to work on things that even kids think are interesting (no offense, but high school students are pretty tough critics!).
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What has been the most satisfying achievement so far in your career?
It's hard for me to choose just one thing. I'd say in general, I have gotten alot of satisfaction when a project that I have worked on launches and works. I also get a real charge out of analyzing some hardware, and then having my predictions verified through test data. It's sorta tells me that I know what I'm doing as an analyst.
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If you could choose any job would you pick the job you have now? Why or why not?
Yes. I really haven't had a day where I've wished I could be doing something else, and that is actually a major accomplishment!
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Is this what you thought you were going to be in high school? In college?
In high school, I toyed briefly with the idea of going into commercial art. When I realized that engineers also could capitalize on their ability to "see" and draw in 3D, I decided to switch pursuits since engineering paid better and seemed to be more of a sure thing. However, when I was in high school and even the first part of college, I had no idea what an engineer actually did all day! I didn't find out until I got an intern job at McDonnel Douglas (now Boeing).
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Do you have a job or a career? Explain.
Definitely a career. I differentiate between the two this way: having a job means that you are working only to earn money, having a career means that you are also working towards some personal goals, which means that the nature of the work changes and grows as you do.
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What are some surprises about your career that you did not anticipate?
When I was in high school and even the first part of college, I had no idea what an engineer actually did all day! So in that sense, you could say that everything about my career was something I did not anticipate. I didn't find out what an engineer actually did at work until I interned at McDonnel Douglas during college. There was one thing about that intern job that I remember really struck me as being different from the other minimum wage jobs I held at the time, and that was that in my engineering intern position, I received hardly any supervision. They paid me to use my brain to figure out how to accomplish a task, whereas in the minimum wage jobs, someone was always telling me exactly what to do and how to do it. I didn't really understand the difference until I lived it; having someone trust you to think through a problem and come up with a solution, and help you if you needed it, was a breath of fresh air.
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Do you think recent graduates have the right attributes to be successful engineers? Are they lacking in any way?
I think today's graduates are well prepared for their engineering careers. If they have any deficiencies compared to earlier grads, I would say that perhaps there is too much dependence on the computer and computer methods. The ability to make assumptions and sort of see the essence of a particular problem is more difficult when people routinely use complex CAE analyses to evaluate hardware. Engineers need to be able to do both the complex computer analyses, and also really understand the physics of a problem and explain why things behave the way they do.
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Let's get personal.…
What made you choose the Aerospace Industry? Were you always interested in Engineering? Did Math and Science always interest you?
I was always good at math and science and it was easy for me... so choosing engineering when I got to college was a natural. Before college, I can't say I was "always" interested in engineering. I had a killer Barbie collection til the eight grade, but at the same time I really only liked the math and science classes. I chose aerospace engineering over other flavors of engineering because I could relate to aircraft and spacecraft better than diesel engines or bridges.
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What courses did you take in college?
To some extent, the courses you take varies depending on what college you choose. I went to Virginia Tech (graduated in 1988, requirements have changed), and there we had to take (for the BS):

What degrees did you earn in college?  Do you plan to get more schooling?

After college did you find a job quickly, in Aerospace?
Yes, I had several offers from which to choose. I graduated #3 in my class, so that combined with being female in a male-dominated field made the job hunt easy for me. Also, the aerospace industry was hiring pretty steadily then.
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Did you work, in Aerospace, before joining NASA?
Sort of. I worked for General Dynamics, Electric Boat Division doing structural analysis on the Seawolf submarine for 2.5 years prior to joining NASA. I had double majored in AE and OE (really water behaves the same as air, as far as control surfaces are concerned -subs just fly through it). I enjoyed that work a lot - I got to do alot of hands on work with the guys who actually built the subs, which is a real education after you've spent 4 years in a classroom studying theory.
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How did you come to work in NASA?
When I was with GD, my husband was with the Navy, and he was transferred down to the Norfolk, Virginia, area. I had job offers at GD's competitor, Newport News Shipbuilding, and NASA, and chose the NASA job. At the time, I was really awed at the idea of working for NASA, so I went for it, despite the fact that the salary was lower. I've never regretted it - working here is terrific!
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How long have you been working at your profession?
Since 1988.
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What do you plan to do when you quit (or get fired) from this job? Do you have some thing to fall back on?
Right now I have no plans to quit or get fired from my job! However, if that were to happen, there are many different industries that need structural analysts specializing in finite element analysis, which is my specialty. I could look for the same type of work that I do now elsewhere in the aerospace industry, in the automotive industry, civil engineering, or really any industry that needs to make sure that their product will not sustain a structural failure in its expected environment. Heck, even toys have to be analyzed before they are made to make sure they wont break when kids toss them across the room!
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Have you moved up any steps since you have begun (for example going from a worker to a manager)?
Yes, in 1997 I made the move into engineering management after dabbling for 2 years in the lower levels of project management.
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Give advice to future aerospace engineers...
What do the future employment opportunities look like?
Aerospace products are one of the few markets where the US has a large chunk of the market share, so from that perspective, the outlook today is quite good. The commercialization of space and the oceans will likely be a defining characteristic of the next century, and aerospace engineers will have a substantial role in this endeavor.
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If you train and study to be an Aerospace Engineer what are the chances of actually working fo NASA?
The minimum requirements to be considered for a position at NASA are US Citizenship, and a >2.9 grade point average in a qualifying degree program. NASA, like most other companies, has periods where they do alot of hiring and periods where they don't do much hiring, depending upon the economy and, in our case, the President's philosophy on government (big vs. small). However, even during periods when NASA is not hiring, there are numerous positions with contractors doing work that directly supports NASA, so finding a job that works on NASA missions should be achievable for the good student. I would also recommend participating in the cooperative education program either at NASA or another aerospace firm; having hands on experience is highly valued by employers.
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What interests and abilities would help me as an Aerospace Engineer?
Successful aerospace engineers need lots of curiosity, problem solving skills, organizational skills, written and oral communication skills, people skills (as in leading and participating in teams) and computer skills. There are no physical requirements; in fact, we have many engineers with disabilities and it is not an issue for their job performance.
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What colleges do you recommend?
I would recommend that you look at the annual survey put out by US News & World Report on the top colleges in engineering, and see if you can identify a school that has a good rating and meets your geographic and financial requirements.
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Are there any scholarships for the aerospace engineering field?
My scholarship knowledge is a bit rusty, but I can share what was available when I started college in 1984. For freshman year, my college actually offered the best selection of merit-based scholarships, inside the engineering department. There were also National Merit Scholarships if you scored well on the SATs. After that, I had good luck with professional societies, particularly the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics or the American Helicopter Society. Also, many companies sponsor merit scholarships for dependents of employees.
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Are there opportunities for internships or co-op positions at NASA Langley?
Yes, Langley does have a co-op program for engineering students. Phil Hoffmann (mailto:p.b.hoffmann@larc.nasa.gov) is currently our Cooperative Education Program Coordinator here at Langley. There is also a NASA program called SHARP where high school students can intern here for a period during the summer.
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Do you have any advice for anyone looking to go into the Aerospace Industry?
Prepare yourself academically in high school by taking the college prep track. I would recommend taking AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP English (composition), and public speaking if possible. Even if you do not take the tests and get credit for these courses in college, it will provide you with a solid foundation for your freshman year. My husband’s grandfather was the Dean of the College of Engineering at Catholic University and the Chairman of American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and his advice to engineering students has always been, "When in doubt, take more math." I tend to agree! The other thing to work on is extra-curricular activities; these were really important on college applications, and having a developed hobby and/or outside interests will help you balance your tough academic course load in college and your work life in the years after.

 When you get to college, co-oping during your undergraduate years is an excellent way to get experience, which will help when you look for a job after graduation, and validate your choice of careers. Not to mention, it pays alot better than flipping burgers!

And lastly, don't do aerospace if you're not having fun - you'll be working for 30-40-50 years, 40 hours each week, and you need to enjoy whatever it is that you'll be doing!
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Would you recommend this career to others?
Recommending a career to someone else is risky, I think. I can say that so far it has been a great choice for me. Each person has to look at their own talents and interests and make a choice that is right for them. If you really enjoy technical challenge are willing to work hard then you might be very satisfied in aerospace engineering.
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How could I become an Astronaut?
Astronauts tend to be either (1)medical doctors (actually a Mission Specialist flavor), (2)pilots (from the armed services, usually), or (3)technical specialists (another Mission Specialist flavor). The technical specialists that become astronauts usually have PhD's, and they normally come from a research area, like structures or materials. You can find out more about qualifications, duties and the application process for becoming an astronaut at NASA Jobs - Astronauts.
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