Aeronautical Engineering - Careers, Salary, Jobs, Scope

Why AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING?

Aeronautical Engineering is a branch of engineering concerned with the structure and design of aircraft. It involves a theoretical and practical understanding of aircraft parts, materials, and their maintenance and quality testing.

It is one of the more challenging fields of engineering, as expertise is needed for designing air vehicles for defense, aviation and exploration systems. Some aspects also deal with designing and working of space aircraft. Aeronautical engineers are primarily employed by government defense organizations like DRDO, government research centers, aircraft manufacturing companies and space organizations like ISRO and NASA.

Top 5 colleges offering aeronautical engineering course-

• Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)
• Anna University, Chennai
• Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
• Jawaharlal Negru Technological University, Kakinada
• PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh

Working hours are generally office hours (9 AM to 5 PM), but some extra time may be required in the form of late hours and weekend shifts when project deadlines are approaching. The early phase of your career may also require you to work on an on-call basis for dealing with issues such as an emergency investigation of a snag or priority of repairs.

The job does not require any major travel as such, except commuting to and from the office, manufacturing hangars and aircraft development laboratories. Overseas travel may be required for attending courses and conferences on fields related to, and the scope of, aeronautical engineering and the aviation industry.

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING: Jobs and Career Opportunities

Generally, government and private aircraft manufacturing and testing companies require trained aeronautical engineering graduates for design and quality control testing. A career in aeronautical engineering is considered quite lucrative and respected, and is one of the highest paying in the engineering industry.

However, one drawback is that self- employment opportunities are limited to the point of being non- existent, except if you are open to the idea of taking up teaching. If you are interested in the design aspect of aeronautical engineering, you will need to have a thorough grasp on high- end and sophisticated computer designing software and visualization tools.

Some positions you can hold as fresh graduates, or even experienced engineers, in various companies are as follows-

Aerospace Engineer

An aerospace engineer will design, develop, maintain and test civil and military aircraft, space probes and satellites. It is an exciting avenue to work with, as you might have an opportunity to get associated with a space mission.

General responsibilities include improving flight security, fuel efficiency and developing eco friendly means of reducing fuel consumption and making air travel environmentally safe. You should also have knowledge of Computer Aided Design (CAD) software, such as AutoCAD, because an integral part of your job will require you to design components of aircrafts and other structures.

Thermal Design Engineer
Thermal design engineers are involved in the architecture and execution phase of a design, and are responsible for ensuring that the machine remains thermally efficient. They are expected to participate in the designing and implement thermal solutions, and ensure minimal loss of power and wear and tear of the designed product due to heat emission.

They also conduct experiments with various thermal materials, systems and processes to ensure the thermal standards of the product that their company manufactures and prepare detailed reports for the same. They can also be required to travel periodically for supplier meetings and material procurement.

Mechanical Design Engineer

Mechanical design engineers are responsible for analytical evaluation of structural, thermal, fluid flow, vibratory shock design, among others.

They are basically associated with the research and development wings of the company, and have to work in close collaboration with other personnel such as electrical engineers to design a working and efficient design of an aircraft or its component, and they are also involved in the execution of the design and troubleshooting for the same.

Aerospace Design Checker

Aerospace design checkers basically have a reviewing and troubleshooting job, where they receive designs from the design team and examine them for accuracy of the engineering assembly for proper dimensioning of structure, and compliance with specific norms, and coordinate with the design engineers to make required changes and solve discrepancies.

These engineers must have a solid background and working capability with computer aided design software, such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks EPDM software. They must understand GD&T principles and how to apply them, and use the same understanding while examining the designs put in front of them.

Assistant Aircraft Engineers

They basically have to assist the aircraft engineers in assessing design requirements, undertaking theoretical and practical research, agreeing on budgets and timescales with clients, measuring and improving the performance of aircrafts, and its components and processes.

They are also involved in writing technical manuals, reports and performing other documentation and also providing technical advice and analyzing and interpreting the data.

Some other positions-

• Graduate Engineer Trainees
• Assistant Technical Officers
• Aircraft Production Manager
• Consultants at various fields and positions

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING: Salary

An aeronautical engineer can earn anywhere between 5 to 6 lakhs per annum in India. Experience plays a big role in determining pay, and the remuneration rises considerably as you spend more years in the industry.

The average pay of an aeronautical engineer at the start of his career is about Rs. 6, 20, 000 per annum, while mid-career salaries can rise up to Rs. 9 lakhs per annum. There are many opportunities available in the government companies as well, where pay scale is determined as per the post, and there are many added benefits as well.

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING: Recruiters

Aeronautical engineering jobs are relatively scarcer as compared to other branches of engineering, because there is a dearth of aerospace companies in India. However, the various companies that do recruit aeronautical engineers are given below.

• ANSYS
• BaeHAL
• Atena
• Applied Thermal Technologies
• LMS International
• Infotech Enterprises
• Atkins
• Safran Aerospace
• Nfotec Digital Engineering
• CADES
• CSM Software
• ESI Softwares
• Mentor Graphics
• Transoft International
• Zeus Numerix Pvt Ltd
• Pacific Mindware Engineering Pvt Ltd
• Private airlines and flight clubs

Public sector companies that recruit aeronautical engineers include the following

• HAL
• DRDO
• ISRO
• Air India
• Indian Airlines
• Helicopter Corporation of India
• DRDL
• NAL
• ADE
• Civil Aviation Department

Specialisations

The following specialization fields are offered in aeronautical engineering in both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Candidates can pick and choose the area of study that interests them and they want to make a career in.

• Propulsion
• Aerodynamics
• Avionics
• Electronic Systems
• Aerospace Propulsion
• Ground Vehicle Systems
• Aircraft Structures and Materials
• Structural Analysis
• Transportation Systems
• Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics
• Structural Design and Engineering
• Instrumentation And Communication
• Navigational Guidance and Control Systems

AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING: Syllabus

The following subjects are taught by most universities in aeronautical engineering. Please note that specific combination of subjects will differ from university to university.

• Design & Dynamics of Autonomous Micro & Mini Air Vehicles
• Fluid-Structure Interactions
• High Speed Jets & Acoustics
• Intake Aerodynamics
• Missile Guidance and Control
• Structural Design & Optimization
• Transition and Turbulence
• Unmanned and Autonomous Air Vehicle

Popular Colleges offering AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Many colleges offer aeronautical and aerospace engineering. The top 5 colleges for studying aeronautical engineering in India are mentioned below. For seeking admission, the candidate needs to have studied Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics in Class 12 in school. They will need to crack the IIT-JEE exam and attain a sufficiently high mark for gaining admission into these colleges.

Why should you choose AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING?

The career opportunities in this field are on the rise, and the scope is becoming wider because of new technologies that are being developed in the areas of aviation and space exploration. The defense organizations in various companies are always in requirement of trained individuals, and this becomes a great career opportunity.

Aeronautical engineers are also in great demand in private multinational companies. If you are willing to do higher studies in this field, there are opportunities to work in reputed space organizations like NASA and ISRO as well. Overall, this is a field with quite lucrative career prospects and always has a great scope, as not many students either opt for or are able to pursue aeronautical engineering from a good and reputed government college.