Today when the geographical boundaries have become mere lines on the map, continents can be covered in few hours making the earth a global village. All thanks to the burgeoning aerospace industry, which has emerged as a strong sector with immense business potential, also offers multitude career options.
As kids, we all desired to fly like a bird in the sky. That dream further promoted into becoming a pilot whenever we saw an aircraft skimming over the clouds. It is true that not all of us can become pilots, but many of us can still come closer to that by choosing a career in aerospace.
There are plenty of career options in the Aerospace industry, which includes design, development, assembly, manufacturing and the study of the science behind aircraft, rockets, and space crafts. The Aerospace industry is a very diverse field, ranging from commercial, and transport to military requirements!
Though the Aerospace industry in India is still in a nascent stage, it is witnessing an unprecedented growth. At present there are 350 commercial aircrafts in India and about 11,000 aircrafts worldwide. The Indian government will be spending about $8 billion for its defense aircraft by 2030. On the commercial side, India will need about 1,500 commercial passenger aircraft in the next 20 years.
This raises a million dollar question about who is eligible for a career in the Aerospace industry. Are only aeronautical engineers eligible for a career in this sector? The answer is no. There is a general misconception that only persons with aeronautical engineering background can be employed in Aerospace industry. In fact, engineers from various branches such as mechanical, electrical, electronics, aerospace, materials, industrial and production can find jobs in this industry. Students with ITI certificate can also find career options at the entry level. Even MBA graduates can opt for a career in Aerospace in areas such as sales, marketing, finance and HR.
The Aerospace industry offers enormous employment opportunities for people, who have the requisite skill sets. The four main categories of jobs in Aerospace industry are:
�Engineers and scientists
�Technicians
�Assembly line workers
�Support functions
Engineers and scientists mainly deal with research, design, development, production, quality and customer services - which require high skill and expertise in the domain as well as specific engineering knowledge. Engineers in design and development work in different areas such as mechanical design, stress analysis, software development, verification & validation, electronics design, reliability, technical publications, project management and systems engineering. A post graduate degree (M Tech / ME) or a PhD in the relevant filed is an added advantage.
Technicians are responsible for maintenance, quality management, manufacturing, production planning, project management, and supply chain. Engineering graduates or diploma holders are usually hired for these jobs which include manufacturing engineering, procurement, buyers, quality assurance, quality control, computer programmers, communications technicians, fabrication inspectors, model makers, and assemblers.
Assembly line workers primarily take care of the product processing, fabrication, assembly, inspection, receiving, storing, packing, warehousing, shipping, plant maintenance and other ground level work at the company. ITI degree holders are best suited for all the above mentioned jobs.
An aerospace company is not all about its products or research and development only; they also hire candidates in different support areas like administration management, sales and marketing, HR, and Finance.
Scenario of aerospace education in India
Aerospace engineering as branch of engineering is offered by some IITs, MIT Chennai, IISc and a few more engineering colleges in India. But if industry experts are to be believed, very soon the scene will change owing to the rapid developments in the industry. Some colleges have already started introducing courses on specialization in aerospace. Thus Aerospace as an industry is opening up many employment avenues for the youth, for whom the sky is the only limit.
United Technologies Aerospace Systems provides a wide range of high technology solutions to Building Automation & Security, Climate Control, & Aerospace Industries. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company has close to 2,000 employees.
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