Also called: F&DT Engineer, Fracture Mechanics Engineer
Predicts how tiny cracks in airplane parts grow over years of flights and decides when they must be inspected.
You run calculations on a fuselage joint that has been pressurized 60,000 times, set inspection intervals for airlines, and review cracks found in the fleet. Your work is a big reason old airplanes keep flying safely.
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, mechanical or civil engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Aerospace engineers overall.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI predicts crack growth from fleet data, automating routine analysis; setting inspection rules and safety sign-off stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Statistics, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2011.
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