Also called: Aircraft Electronics Engineer
Designs the electronics in the cockpit and behind the panels: navigation, radios, radar, displays, and flight computers.
Your bench is covered in circuit boards wired to a flight-deck display. You test whether the new radar software still works when an engine generator flickers, then write the documentation that proves it.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in electrical, computer, or aerospace engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years).
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI helps write and test code, but DO-178 certified avionics need human review, lab testing and accountability.
Classes: AP Computer Science, AP Physics, Electronics class, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2072.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.