In the United States, the aerospace engineer salary exceeds $100,000. Even though it might be slightly different depending on the source, Sokanu provides the following salary data: the median aerospace engineer salary is $107,830 per year, $8,985 per month and $51.84 per hour.
There are numerous aspects, however, that can determine the aerospace engineer salary, from location to experience. Therefore, we’ll expand on these influential factors below.
Aerospace Engineer Salary Influencers
1. Industry
To begin with, five main industries provide aerospace engineer jobs in the United States. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a lot of these professionals work in the Aerospace product and parts manufacturing industry – 38%. This source also notes that 14% get their aerospace engineering salaries in Engineering services.
In addition, the Federal government (excluding postal service) and Research and development (physical, engineering and life sciences) industries, which employ 13% and, respectively, 12% of aerospace engineers. Just around 5% work in Navigational, measuring, electromedical and control instruments manufacturing.
Moreover, the aerospace engineer starting salary or that of experienced specialists depends on the employer. Here are a few of the most popular companies that hire aerospace engineers:
- NASA aerospace engineer salary – $72,000 – $118,000
- Boeing aerospace engineer salary – $71,000 – $107,000
- Northrop Grumman Corporation aerospace engineer salary – $73,000 – $99,000
- GE (General Electric) Aviation average salary of an aerospace engineer – $67,000 – $86,000
- S. Air Force average salary for aerospace engineer – $68,000 – $99,000
2. Geographic Area
The top average salary aerospace engineer employees in America is offered in Colorado, where these professionals receive $132,670 annually. Nevertheless, there are plenty of other states that provide 6-figure salaries for aerospace engineers. The following 5 states come in just after Colorado for the highest salaries in the country:
- Virginia average salary of aerospace engineer – $131,470
- Average salary of a aerospace engineer in the District of Columbia – $125,350
- Missouri average aerospace engineer salary – $123,410
- Average salary for an aerospace engineer in Maryland – $122,450
- New Jersey aerospace engineer salary – $118,240
However, high salaries aren’t everything. When searching for job openings, you should also consider the states with the highest aerospace engineer employment rates. In the United States, these are:
- California
- Washington
- Texas
- Ohio
- Alabama
Aside from Puerto Rico ($59,270), the states that have the lowest salaries for aerospace engineers in our country are:
- West Virginia – $89,640
- Oklahoma – $88,950
- Tennessee – $87,800
- Indiana – $83,090
- Utah – $80,070
3. Experience
Experience matters as much as any other influential factor for aerospace engineers. There’s quite the gap between the aerospace engineering starting salary and the annual pay for those with over 10 or 20 years of experience. Payscale has the following statistics for salaries based on experience:
- Entry level aerospace engineering salary – $71,000
- Mid level aerospace engineer salary – $85,000
- Experienced aerospace engineer annual salary – $102,000
- Late career aerospace engineering jobs salary – $128,000
Working Hours and Environment
Surprisingly, aerospace engineers work more in offices now, owing to the need of using computers for designing aircrafts. Moreover, their schedules are usually full time, with overtime for engineers that direct projects. They work with teams to design and build aircrafts, delegating tasks and taking care of pieces of a project at a time.
Aerospace Engineer Salary by State
| State | Annual mean wage ($) |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 109,980 |
| Alaska | 100,700 |
| Arizona | 92,410 |
| California | 116,500 |
| Colorado | 132,670 |
| Connecticut | 107,050 |
| Delaware | 98,610 |
| District of Columbia | 125,350 |
| Florida | 105,080 |
| Georgia | 105,060 |
| Illinois | 101,610 |
| Indiana | 83,090 |
| Iowa | 107,240 |
| Kansas | 100,500 |
| Louisiana | 104,000 |
| Maine | 103,520 |
| Maryland | 122,450 |
| Massachusetts | 110,800 |
| Michigan | 94,370 |
| Minnesota | 98,900 |
| Mississippi | 98,500 |
| Missouri | 123,410 |
| Nebraska | 101,390 |
| New Hampshire | 96,560 |
| New Jersey | 118,240 |
| New Mexico | 104,020 |
| New York | 113,080 |
| North Carolina | 94,570 |
| Ohio | 107,240 |
| Oklahoma | 88,950 |
| Oregon | 95,660 |
| Pennsylvania | 99,190 |
| Puerto Rico | 59,270 |
| Tennessee | 87,800 |
| Texas | 108,990 |
| Utah | 80,070 |
| Virginia | 131,470 |
| West Virginia | 89,640 |
| Wisconsin | 107,140 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bonuses and Benefit Packages
As expected, almost all aerospace engineers have health benefits. Approximately 92% have medical benefits. Furthermore, 81% have dental coverage and 69% have vision insurance. Rarely do aerospace engineers have no benefits at all.
On another note, profit sharing can bring an engineer up to $10,843 a year. Bonuses are also attractive, with the numbers totaling to $9,591 annually. Aerospace engineers can also get a commission of up to $10,000 yearly, depending on their performance and projects.
Job Outlook
Sadly, it seems that there won’t be that many employment opportunities for aerospace engineers in the near future. Until 2024, jobs for these professionals are expected to decline -2%, due to breakthroughs in research, development and technology. This is lower than the job outlook for engineers in general (4%), but also the national median for all occupations (7%).
Conclusion
To conclude, the aerospace engineer salary can bring an expert more than $100,000 a year. Even though the job outlook isn’t as bright as some would expect, aerospace engineers almost always enjoy various medical benefits. In addition to this, they can earn up to $10k a year from profit sharing, commissions and bonuses each. As a future candidate, we recommend finding a prosperous location with plenty of job opportunities and pleasing salaries to send your application.
Image source: no attribution required.
Nice information
Thank you, Alia!
Keep browsing for more information.