“If I take any job I can get in aerospace, how easy/hard is it to move out of one field to the next?” This question came from a graduate student seeking to enter the aerospace or flight test career field.

His concern was that he would be forced to accept a job in an area that he wasn’t excited about because of his inexperience, and that he would get pigeon-holed in that subdiscipline. For example, if he was hired as a systems engineer, would he be able to transfer to structures later on.

Two considerations:

1. Breadth of experience is an important characteristic requirement for leadership
2. Indispensable people can work wherever they please

Breadth

There is a cost for training an individual in any area that he is not experienced in.  There is also a risk that an individual will not acclimate to a new specialty.  Both of these objectives are easily overcome if there is a promising return on investment of time, money, effort, etc.  Grooming an engineering professional for leadership by exposing him or her to a broad range of work types and fields is one situation in which the return on investment can be recouped.

Some aerospace organizations also have exposure to a wider array of specialties. For example, a test engineer at the Air Force Flight Test Center might get to work on a much wider variety of projects and work more closely with other sub-disciplines compared to a landing gear design engineer at Boeing.

The third thing about breadth to consider is that it is much easier to go from a job working on a specialized system, e.g., landing gear, to a broader and more general specialty like systems engineering than it is to make the transition the other direction. Having said that, there are some people who can accomplish almost anything they set their minds to…

Indispensable

Leadership, initiative, diligence–these are all characteristics of a rare kind of worker. Many people only do the work assigned to them. Excellence in your work ethic and accomplishment of your assignments with initiative will set you apart in any profession. These skills are much more valuable than experience in a particular specialty, and you will likely find that you can pick the work you want to accomplish.

One final word on finding work in the aerospace field: demonstrate that you are indispensable by the way you conduct your job search, and you will be sowing seeds of success for the rest of your career.

1. Learn as much as you can about the company you want to work for.

2. Listen to the company’s representative and connect with them personally.

3. Show them your ability to see their needs, hear what he or she is saying, by responding to information you found in the first two points above.

Don’t just imagine your dreams–explore them, because we need you. The aerospace industry needs innovators. The flight test community is looking for the next Neil Armstrong, and that’s what this column is about, helping you take that next small step.

Thanks for reading Launch Your Flight Test Career #4. Send a message to @FlightTestFact on Twitter to ask questions about launching your flight test career.

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“What is production flight test?” and “Can I use it as a stepping stone in my flight test career?” are two questions asked recently that I want to address today.

Production Flight Test

As aircraft come off the assembly line, they undergo certain inspections both on the ground and in the air, to determine that the aircraft meets its design specifications and all systems operate correctly. The airborne portion of this checkout is the job of the production flight test team.

As an example, here is the original production flight test manual of the Martin B-26 Marauder, which is pictured here. In this manual, you can see some of the technical detail involved in verifying system operation within allowable tolerances.

There are no special certifications for production flight test, and a demonstrated history of aviation excellence and engineering/mechanical acumen are the only job experience requirements.  So this niche is probably one of the more widely accessible routes to a flight test career.

Stepping Stones

I have friends and colleagues both who followed their work as production test pilots with more specialized jobs in design, development, and experimental flight test. In particular, one was able to satisfy the requirements for membership in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots based on his work history that followed from the earlier stepping stones in production flight test. (I am soliciting his permission to link to his contact information–please check back for an update.)

So production flight test is certainly an excellent way to gain valuable experience and launch your flight test career.

Thanks for reading Launch Your Flight Test Career #3. Don’t just imagine your dreams–explore them, because we need you. The aerospace industry needs innovators. The flight test community is looking for the next Neil Armstrong, and that’s what this column is about, helping you take that next small step.

Send a message to @FlightTestFact on Twitter to ask questions about launching your flight test career.

More articles in this series: Previous | Next