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Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Operate, install, adjust, and maintain integrated computer/communications systems, consoles, simulators, and other data acquisition, test, and measurement instruments and equipment, which are used to launch, track, position, and evaluate air and space vehicles. May record and interpret test data.

Related: Automotive Engineering Technicians Avionics Technicians Calibration Technologists & Technicians Electro-Mechanical & Mechatronics Technologists & Technicians Mechanical Engineering Technologists & Technicians

Industries: Manufacturing Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

Inspect, diagnose, maintain, and operate test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions.
Confer with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results.
Finish vehicle instrumentation and deinstrumentation.
Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms.
Construct and maintain test facilities for aircraft parts and systems, according to specifications.
Design electrical and mechanical systems for avionic instrumentation applications.
Test aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, performing systems readiness tests and pre- and post-operational checkouts, to establish design or fabrication parameters.
Adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment.
Design electrical and mechanical systems for avionic instrumentation applications.
Adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment.
Operate and calibrate computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis.
Construct and maintain test facilities for aircraft parts and systems, according to specifications.
Identify required data, data acquisition plans, and test parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications.
Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments.
Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms.
Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments.

Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

Education

Associate's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

105910/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

50.92/hr

Currently Employed

420

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Cautiousness
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Intellectual Curiosity
Perseverance

Accelerometers
Adjustable wrenches
Ball peen hammer
Bench vises
Borescope inspection equipment
Box end wrenches
Calipers
Cold chisels
Combination wrenches
Compasses
Compression testers
Coordinate measuring machines CMM
Countersinks
Depth gauges
Drill press or radial drill
Eddy current examination equipment
Explosive initiators
Fall protection lanyard
Farmers own file
Fire extinguishers
Flat hand file
Flat taper file
Flowmeters
Force or torque sensors
Forklifts
Form tools or toolbits
Gage block set
Gantry milling machine
Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
Go or no go gauge
Goggles
Gyroscopic instruments
Hacksaw
Half round file
Hammers
Height gauges
Hex keys
Hole gauge
Horizontal turning center
IR 192 radiography examination equipment
Impact hammers
Infrared imagers
Lasers
Leak testing equipment
Liquid penetrant examination equipment
Magnetic particle examination equipment
Mainframe console or dumb terminals
Mallets
Manipulators
Mass spectrometers
Metal cutters
Micrometers
Mill saw file
Offset screw driver
Open end wrenches
Paint application system
Personal computers
Pneumatic drill
Power screwguns
Precision file
Pressure indicators
Profiling and duplicating milling machine
Protractors
Punches or nail sets or drifts
Respirators
Rivet tools
Round file
Rulers
Safety harnesses or belts
Scaffolding
Screwdrivers
Scribers
Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
Shot peen machine
Sockets
Soldering iron
Spanner wrenches
Specialty wrenches
Speed sensors
Squares
Straight edges
Strain gauges
Taps
Telescopes
Telescoping gauge
Theodolites
Thermocouples
Thickness measuring devices
Thread counters or gauges
Thread repair kits
Tinners snips
Torque wrenches
Torx keys
Track cranes
Traveling column milling machine
Turret lathe
Ultrasonic examination equipment
Vacuum ovens
Vibration testers
Voltage or current meters
Welder torch
Wire lug crimping tool
Wire twister
X ray radiography examination equipment

Analytical or scientific software
Computer aided design CAD software
Data base management system software
Data base user interface and query software
Development environment software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Graphical user interface development software
Industrial control software
Inventory management software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Program testing software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Transaction server software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

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