Also called: Low-Boom Aircraft Engineer
Designs a new generation of faster-than-sound passenger jets with quieter sonic booms.
You shape a long, needle-like nose in CFD software to soften the boom, then compare your predictions with microphones on the ground during a NASA test flight. Your goal is to make flights from New York to London take half the time.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 5 years after high school. Bachelor's or master's in aerospace engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Aerospace engineers overall.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI speeds aerodynamic and boom simulations; flight testing and certifying new jets stay human.
Classes: AP Physics C, AP Calculus, Computer science, CAD class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2011.
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