Aerospace Scientist Salary
Designers of aerospace crafts are known as aerospace scientists or engineers. They typically specialize in either aircrafts, such as helicopters or fighter jets, or spacecrafts, such as rockets. The salary of an aerospace scientist varies depending on the level of education and degree he pursues, as well as the type of industry in which he works.
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Salary
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Aerospace scientists in the United States earned an average salary of $99,000 a year as of May 2010, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Wages started at less than $60,620 a year for those scientists in the 10th percentile and exceeded $143,360 a year for those in the 90th percentile. The median income for aerospace scientists was $97,480 annually.
Industry
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Aerospace scientists working in the industry of aerospace product and parts manufacturing earned an average of $89,150 a year as of 2010, reports the BLS. Those employed in architectural, engineering and related services earned an average of $100,640 a year, and those working in scientific and research and development services earned an average of $106,840. The federal executive branch offered an average salary of $110,780 for aerospace scientists, and those specializing in navigational, measuring, electromedical and control instruments manufacturing earned an average of $101,580. The top paying industry for aerospace scientists was machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers with a salary average of $118,420, followed by the industry of non-scheduled air transportation with an average of $114,300.
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Location
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Washington had the highest concentration of aerospace scientists as of 2010, at 2.40 employed per every 1,000 jobs in the state, and offered a salary average of $95,080 a year, according to the BLS. The top paying state for these scientists was Maryland with a salary average of $117,160 annually, followed by Virginia with an average of $116,280. Bethesda-Frederick-Gaithersburg, Maryland, was the highest paying urban area in the nation for aerospace scientists with a salary average of $160,100 a year, and St. Mary's County, Maryland, was the highest paying rural area with an average of $104,980.
Outlook
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The BLS expects a 10 percent increase in employment opportunities for aerospace scientists between 2008 and 2018, a rate "about as fast as the average" for all jobs in the U.S. Those interested in pursuing a career in aerospace science may pursue associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs that focus on courses like calculus, physics, aerodynamics, aircraft structures, global positioning systems and aeroelasticity.
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