What is the job outlook for the near future?

The job outlook for Aerospace Engineers at the moment, does not look good. Many aerospace companies have been experiencing high profits, in part by laying off engineers and other workers. The proposed decreasing of the defense budget could cause even more layoffs. Out of an estimated 54,000 aerospace engineers, currently NASA and the Department of Defense employ 1 out of 7 Aerospace Engineers. With the proposed cutbacks, many of these workers may be layed off. About 70% of the jobs are created by retiring personnel, or personnel who have transferred to other occupations. This is where the majority of new aerospace jobs will come from. Job growth in this field is also limited by the increasing number of aerospace manufacturing jobs being filled by mechanical, chemical, and electrical engineers. The silver lining is that the civilian aircraft manufacturing is rising. While domestic commercial jets will face increasing competition from Airbus, this part of the aerospace industry is expected to increase. The job growth projection until the year 2005 is expected to be below industry average.