Occupations · Architecture and Engineering
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians
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.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 17-3021.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
These are national figures, identical for every reader. The report recuts them for your metro area and ranks it among all of them.
Get yours →Pay over time
Median up 52% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | $82,720 | 830 |
| Wichita, KS | $76,130 | 550 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $110,120 | 450 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $96,370 | 410 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $67,060 | 380 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 5 areas with the most people in this occupation
Your metro area, and where it ranks
LockedAll metropolitan areas BLS publishes for this occupation, with your own city's median and its rank among them.
Open in your report →Typical education to enter: Associate's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Test aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, performing systems readiness tests and pre- and post-operational checkouts, to establish design or fabrication parameters.
- Identify required data, data acquisition plans, and test parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications.
- 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.
- Operate and calibrate computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis.
- Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms.
- Finish vehicle instrumentation and deinstrumentation.
- Adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment.
- Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments.
- Construct and maintain test facilities for aircraft parts and systems, according to specifications.
- Design electrical and mechanical systems for avionic instrumentation applications.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What your tools are worth
Occupation-based, not posting-based: how much employment, pay and projected growth sit behind each tool. It is not a count of job ads.
| Tool | Value | Spread across occupations |
|---|---|---|
| Python | 88 | 57 → 132 occupations since 2015 |
| Oracle Java | 87 | 40 → 99 occupations since 2015 |
| C++ | 86 | 75 → 110 occupations since 2015 |
What your tools are worth
LockedThe same score for every tool in this occupation, plus the ones you ticked and the ones you did not.
Open in your report →What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2019-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2019-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Operate, test, and troubleshoot uncrewed aerial systems, commonly known as drones, to ensure optimal performance.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
Get this as a personal report
The same sourced evidence, recut for the closest published view of your city, state or industry, as a dated PDF.
Free page vs. the $29 report
The page above is a public national reference, identical for every reader — and we deliberately give away a lot of it. The report does three things this page cannot: it answers the question you type in your own words, using only figures that appear in the report with their sources; it ranks your city among all 445 metros instead of the twelve shown here; and it places your level on the employer pay ladder. Choose $49 for the wider comparison of industries, places and next moves, $99 to add named employers and the international purchasing-power index.
What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 26
No longer listed 2
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| aerospace engineering technician | 3115.1.1 | exact |
| aerospace engineering drafter | 3118.3.1 | close |
| aerospace engineer | 2144.1.1 | close |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
Keep exploring
See labor-market evidence in motion.
Watch short Tamhu stories about pay, growth and how work changes — then return to the source data here.
Watch this occupation
This job has changed before and it will change again. We'll email you when the data moves — a tool appears, a skill gains weight, the pay distribution shifts. Free, and one click to stop.
Check your inbox — your watch starts only after you confirm.
We send data, not advice. No sharing, no resale. Privacy