Soar to New Heights with a Career in Aerospace

The aerospace industry is rapidly advancing towards a new era characterised by disruptive technology and revolutionary future flight concepts. In parallel, the skills required to support such a radical transformation are also changing. At a Future Engineer event hosted by the Royal Aeronautical Society in recent months, Nigel Whitehead, Chief Technology Officer of BAE Systems indicated that the company’s future was dependent on attracting “pan-dimensional mega-beings” - creative, innovative thinkers from different backgrounds. As fantastic new opportunities open up and the industry embraces diversity, is this the ideal time for you to become part of this exciting future? My story shows that if you really want to work in aerospace, you can.

Taking Off

My aerospace journey began at Dublin Airport and really took off from there. As a business graduate, my work in the traffic development department took me all over the airport site, enabling me to learn about all aspects of airline, airport and maintenance operations. Even in those early days, I knew that I wanted to be an “Aerospace person” and took every opportunity to build experience in different parts of the industry. I worked for an amazing team of specialist airline consultants who were setting up new airlines all over Eastern Europe and Africa; I worked in Asia-Pacific for Shorts Brothers exploring options for strategic repair partnerships and I worked for Pratt & Whitney’s repair shop in Dublin (alas no more) establishing its marketing function. I was fascinated by the variety, complexity and breadth of the sector and attracted by the integrity of the people working within it.

 Onwards and Upwards

The more I learned about the industry, the more I wanted to learn. Right from the outset, I looked for ways to convert my “on-the-job” experiences into valuable qualifications. Initially, I stayed firmly within my social sciences comfort zone, weaving aerospace topics into my projects where possible. Then I decided to break the mould and learn more about the engineering and technical aspects of the industry I loved. It was quite normal for engineers to go on to develop their business, management and leadership skills and so I set about doing the reverse (it was only later that I realised this was actually quite unconventional!).

By the time I graduated with my MSc in Aerospace Design, Manufacture and Management, I had become what could be described as a hybrid-engineer, uniquely blending technical and non-technical skills. Being honoured by the Royal Aeronautical Society with the award of Fellow (FRAeS) at a time when only 1% of the Society’s Fellows were female was definitely a gold star moment and shows that everyone has the potential to make a significant contribution to the industry in their own way.

The Golden Thread

My diverse background opened up a whole range of opportunities to me. Throughout a career spanning almost 30 years, aerospace has always been my golden thread. I moved from industry into roles in academia and government - roles which involved working on a sector-wide basis to improve productivity, competitiveness and safety; roles that were at the forefront of aerospace technological advancement; roles that strengthened sector capabilities, secured large-scale R&D funding and attracted new investment. These roles have allowed me to draw on the full breadth of my knowledge and experience, both technical and non-technical. I naturally think in a “system of systems” way, I can understand the detail and also see the bigger picture, I can communicate across disciplinary boundaries (more difficult than it might seem!). At this stage, aerospace is in my DNA but I have retained a sense of ‘the wonder of flight’ and I am hugely excited about the future of the sector.

Spread Your Wings

This is the perfect time for you to spread your wings and start your own aerospace journey. You don’t have to be an engineer; you don’t even have to be a hybrid-engineer. There is an abundance of opportunities across the sector, requiring all sorts of experience and knowledge and there are loads of different ways into the industry. What are the three main lessons you can learn from my story?

• Set your own flight path – don’t worry about doing things the “right” way. You can do things your own way. It doesn’t matter where you start from. It doesn’t matter when you start.  Don’t be afraid to change course if things don’t quite work out as expected. Ultimately, whatever path you take, you will end up exactly where you’re meant to be. Every experience, every qualification and every step along the way will add to the fabulous mosaic of your career. Simply focus on your next step, while keeping up-to-date with industry developments, getting out and about networking and looking for chances to add value.  
• Expand your horizons – think broadly instead of narrowly. Be open to doing different things, going different places, applying different skills in different environments. There are so many options to choose from – aero-structures, aero-engines, rotorcraft, avionics, space, aircraft maintenance, airlines – as well as exciting emerging areas such as urban air mobility, unmanned air systems and electric propulsion. Remember that some of the best opportunities can be found in the least obvious places. Aerospace roles can be found in a whole range of places, including industry, government, universities, research institutes, trade associations, aircraft leasing companies and consultancies.
• Propel yourself forwards. Keep learning, keep growing and keep challenging yourself. Keep moving forwards, keep enjoying what you are doing. Remember that there are always ways to plug skills gaps (if you want to badly enough). You will end up with a unique skill set that makes you very valuable and very different from others – perfect for the world of diversity currently being embraced by the aerospace industry. While there will always be the need for highly qualified engineers with deep technical knowledge, it looks like hybrid-engineers like me, along with non-engineers, will also be hugely prized within diverse, multi-disciplinary aerospace teams and businesses.

Now is the time to embrace your inner “mega-being”, set your sights on soaring to new heights and create your own future - make a difference by being different.

Acknowledgements

With special thanks to Bridget Rooth for her generous support and encouragement.

Picture Credits

Images by flinnn from Pixabay aircraft-1561448_1920 and Pixabay-plane-841441_1920.