This post provides complete information on the aerospace engineer skills and qualities you need to have to boost your performance on your job and succeed in your career.
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For one reason or the other, transportation through air has been the most preferable to so many people.
This is because of speed associated with air transportation that allows people make easy movements even all around the world.
This is made possible through the efforts of aerospace engineers.
Aerospace engineering is an aspect of engineering that is concerned with the design and development of aircraft and spacecraft.
Working in this industry requires some magnificent skills.
Top 15 Aerospace Engineering Skills to Stay Top of Your Career
Here are important skills and qualities you need to have to increase your efficiency and succeed as an aerospace engineer:
- Excellent mathematics skills
- Analytical skills
- Problem solving skills
- Technical expertise
- Creative and innovative thinking
- Attention to details
- Awareness to safety issues
- Communication skills
- Project management skills
- Time management
- Abreast with current trends
- Ability to work under pressure
- Goal oriented
- Team work
- Research skills.
- Excellent mathematics skills
Engineering is associated with both basic and advanced mathematics. This is why sometimes engineers are known to be great thinkers.
This is because mathematics demands your brain to be at work rather than just assuming that something should be in a particular way.
One good thing about mathematics is that it can help you develop your thinking ability.
Mathematics puts the brain to work and helps you think deeper in your assessment of problems.
So this is why you need some good mathematical skills.
When you are good at mathematics, it means that you can draw good analysis and also create a pathway for solution to a given problem.
Most importantly, understand that you need both advanced and basic mathematics in this engineering field.
- Analytical skills
As stated above, engineers are known to be great thinkers because they are always faced with the prospect of making decisions based on their findings.
So, you should be able to be a good analyst if you want to work as an aerospace engineer.
This is not a job that can be done anyhow.
It requires a brain that can think and a mind that can analyze.
Engineering has a lot to do with practical analysis and not just abstract thinking.
This is one thing you should be very good at.
So you need to polish your analytical skills to be able to make a mark in your job as an aerospace engineer.
You should be able to think and analyze beyond the surface.
You should see what others are not seeing and that is what you need to succeed.
- Problem solving skills
An aerospace engineer should be able to bring solutions to issues in the company where he/she works.
This is because, as much as technology keeps bringing solutions on the table, it is always presented with a new problem entirely.
This is why if you are working in this industry or company as the case may be, you should be able to think things through and by yourself bring about a reasonable knowledge that can be helpful to your company.
Your company needs your ideas.
Your problem solving skills improves as long as you are making deliberate and concerted effort to get things done.
Also, anticipating a problem and working towards it even when it is not yet a reality will help you stay ahead of others in the aerospace industry.
- Technical expertise
The technical aspect of your job is the major reason you were employed.
Your technical expertise is the knowledge you have to help you get things done in your company.
Before you got employed, it is assumed by reason of your certification(s), that you are able to get things done.
So exactly what is expected of you is your technical abilities.
You should be conversant with your working tools and materials both theoretically and practically.
Remember this is a job where technical ability is the key to getting employed.
So your tools should not be strange to you.
The tools you are provided with to work are for you to give your best as expected of you.
Some new innovations can bring you into the reality of working with new tools.
Be sure that you learn how to use the latest tools and how they work.
- Creative and innovative thinking
In the engineering world, the end product of everything is to provide solutions to existing problems and also bring into reality what might not be known at the moment.
This is what engineering is meant to achieve in the world today.
For that reason, your creativity should be unquestionable and difficult to match.
Just think outside the box and get things done.
That should be your thing.
You shouldn’t just be tied to what you already know. Learn to improve on what you already know.
You must be creative in your job; you should know that creative thinking is the foundation of creativity.
This is no doubt one area you should improve on in your job. Creativity can be learned or better still developed from within.
- Attention to details
In engineering, details matter a lot regardless of how big or insignificant they might appear.
So to a successful career as an aerospace engineer, you should be detailed enough in your assessment of your workings and other activities.
When you see things in your calculation and your postulations, don’t be so eager to ignore any fact or think that a particular detail is not necessary.
This oversight can be counterproductive in the long run. So be sure to be interested in every detail.
Details of your job also should guide you in your daily operation.
You should not forget that your job is the type that demands that you are clinical in whatever you do.
So you should bear that in mind and watch your activities to make sure you are doing the right thing.
- Awareness to safety issues
As much as this might be a lucrative job, yet a lot of emphasis is laid on the safety of the engineers and the end users of the aero products.
There is a lot to be wary about in this industry, such as explosions, electrical discharges, and other hazardous situations.
So in the light of this, it is expected that you pay attention to safety measures and avoid exposing yourself to hazardous situations.
This is important for self-preservation in this job. Also, learn to follow instructions to ensure your safety.
Safety measures in this case are also needed for you not to carry out wrong activities that may endanger the smooth activities of others in the company.
So, pay much attention for safety measures.
Remember that a little mistake can have serious consequences for you and the people working with you in the workplace.
- Communication skills
The sensitivity of this job is enough reason for you to learn to stay connected to others in the workplace or factory through effective communication.
You should keep in touch with other engineers in the factory.
This is one of the safety measures you should also know.
When you observe some abnormal conditions or situations in the workplace, you should be to communicate with others so that such conditions can be handled as quickly as possible without delay.
Also, you should establish a good and cordial relationship with your fellow engineers in the workplace through good communication skills.
You just cannot do without this skill in the workplace. It is a necessity for you to have it.
- Project management skills
The job you do is not a job that demands only your ability. It demands the unification of the skills and abilities of other people in the workplace.
This is because the job you are into is a project that is meant to be executed within a specified period of time.
Since you know that this is a project, you should work with that mindset and engage your project management skills.
As a member of the team handling the project, you have your own task to perform and this is what will help you do things aright.
So, ensure that you are not the reason the project fails.
Remember that if the project fails or there is a problem with the project, it will tell on the fortunes of the company.
- Time management
This is a basic project management skill. Working with time is a strong policy in the aeronautic industry.
You should work with time and save and ensure that you do not mismanage time particularly when you are working in a project.
Prepare yourself before working for the day and be sure to put yourself in order.
Every single minute in your workplace should be productive and not be wasted.
A project has timeframe and must be accomplished on or before that timeframe.
So, avoid procrastination and laziness.
These are the two things you should avoid if you really want to be successful in your job as an aerospace engineer.
It is a must that you should be up and doing and not be found idle when you should be productive.
- Abreast with current trends
Times will always change and once times change, the next to change is the trends of the time.
This is one thing you should know even in your job.
Knowing the trend is not just for knowledge sake but to help you do your job with knowledge of current demands.
As time flies, the demand for doing certain jobs changes.
For someone working in the aerospace industries, being abreast with the latest trends will help you know where to improve in your skills.
This is true and don’t assume that the skills of yesterday will be sufficient for today and tomorrow.
This is one good way to stay relevant in your job.
There is no way you will be ignorant of the trends and still be relevant in your job.
The skills you have now need to improve and that will start with you knowing what is needed today and not just yesterday.
- Ability to work under pressure
Pressure is normal, especially if you are working to meet up with the timeframe assigned to you in your job.
This has the ability to place you under undue stress and pressure. It can be discomforting and can bring down your morale.
But the thing is that through proper management of this pressure, you will get better and learn how to handle greater responsibilities.
You should brace the pressure, use your expertise and make things happen without bowing to the pressure.
One more thing, when you are faced with pressure, you should try to calm the pressure you are facing.
The truth is that your potency of performing at a high level is not workable when you are under pressure because you might make terrible mistakes in your job.
- Goal oriented
There is no doubt that there is something you are looking at as your target in your job.
This is your goal.
This can be your personal goal or some goals given to you by your company.
Either way, you are expected to get to work in that regards.
When you don’t work to achieve your goals, it is assumed that you are not competent enough to last in that job.
This will not help your course in the long run.
You should fix your mind on achieving those organization and personal goals to be able to remain relevant in your job.
So, know this and do your best to always meet up with the target given to you.
Your employer may not care how you go about it but the most important thing is that you have to give it your best and make it happen.
- Team work
Most importantly, you have to consider making the most of your relationship with the people in the workplace.
Your job demands the efforts of others to be complete; it is not just about your personal abilities alone.
You have to be a team player and someone that should be good at collaborating with other people in the workplace to get things done, knowing too well that what you are engaged in is a project that demands team work and not just personal brilliance or intelligence.
So with this, you will also need some interpersonal skills to do this right.
Yes, interpersonal skills will help you remain in good terms and cultivate some team spirit regardless of personal differences and assertions.
This is important for you in this industry.
- Research skills
This is an attempt to be better than you used to be in your career.
Research skill is a powerful skill you will need to stay top of your job as an aerospace engineer.
In your bid to getter better in your job, you have to enhance your research skills to be able to stay in tune with latest demands and trends in the industry.
You just have to upgrade if you really want to last in this job or industry.
Your research should be with the intention of understanding the industry better.
It pays to know your industry and what the future holds for the industry.
This will help you develop the relevant skills you will need to prepare for the future of the aerospace engineering industry.
Aerospace Engineering Skills for Resume
If you are writing a new resume/CV for an aerospace engineering job, you can make it more impactful on the recruiter/employer by adding a powerful Skills Section to it.
You can create such Skills Section for your resume/CV by applying the aerospace engineering skills and qualities discussed above if you have them.
By highlighting some of the above skills and qualities in your resume/CV, the recruiter/employer will be convinced that you have what it takes to perform the assigned tasks and responsibilities of the aerospace engineering position effective.
This will enhance your chances of being selected for an interview and hired for the aerospace engineering role.
Conclusion
Through the points of this article, we have been able to see the various skills and qualities you will need to be top of your career as an aerospace engineer.