Soaring demand for aerospace engineers

With several deep space missions in the pipeline, opportunities for aerospace engineers have multiplied The touchdown of Chandrayaan-3, the third mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on the dark side of the moon (lunar south pole) on August 23 and its successful release of the Pragyan Rover made media headlines the worldover. This successful mission established India as one of four outer space powers of the world (after the US, Russia and China). This mission was followed up by the successful Aditya-I mission to the Sun. “With several deep space missions in the offing, the demand for aerospace engineers is likely to double within the next five years,” says Dr. N.G.R. Iyengar, former pro vice chancellor of Jain University and director of the International Institute of Aerospace Engineering and Management (IIAEM, estb.2006), Bengaluru. Aerospace engineering is a science which focuses on research, design, development, construction, testing, science and technology of aircraft and spacecraft. It is further divided into aeronautical and astronautical engineering. The former deals with aircraft operating in the Earth’s atmosphere and the latter with aircraft venturing into outer space. To qualify as an aerospace engineer, aspirants should be well-versed with the basic principles of aerodynamics, aerospace structures, flight mechanics and control, propulsion, avionics, meteorology, airworthiness regulation and air traffic control and management. STUDY PROGRAMMES. Aerospace engineering study programmes at the advanced diploma, bachelor’s, Masters and Ph D levels are offered by mechanical engineering departments of several universities and specialised technology institutes, some of whom offer degrees in space-focused aeronautical engineering as well. Among the well-known institutions offering aerospace study programmes at the graduate and postgraduate levels, are the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and IITs at Kanpur, Chennai, Mumbai and Kharagpur. Some universities also offer aerospace engineering at the undergraduate level. In addition to undergrad, postgrad and research programmes, Jain University’s IIAEM offers a Masters programme to engineers employed in the aviation and related industries as also research establishments to upgrade their skills. Likewise, the ISRO-sponsored Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Trivandrum (estb. 2007), offers undergraduate and postgraduate aeronautics, astronautics and space science courses. Distance learning programmes in aerospace engineering were introduced by IGNOU in 2009. For those interested in studying abroad, America’s globally renowned National Aeronautics & Space Agency (NASA) offers advanced programmes in aerospace engineering. REMUNERATION PROSPECTS. Aerospace engineers are in great demand in the civil aviation and defence sectors, Indian Air Force, ISRO and other research organisations such as DRDO, National Aeronautical Laboratory etc as also in higher education institutions. Inevitably, pay packages are handsome ranging from Rs.45,000 for freshers to Rs.3-4 lakh per month for experienced professionals. The demand for India- trained aerospace engineers is sustained. Indian engineers constitute a significant percentage of technical professionals in NASA. PROFESSIONAL PROFILE. “India is poised to become the world’s third largest market for aircraft by 2020 with 1,800 aircraft flying Indian skies, transporting 400 million passengers per year. The Union government’s planned investment of $12.1 billion (Rs.73,810 crore) in the airports sector…