Expert: Paul Soderman - 5/17/2011

Question
Hello Paul

My name is Jaya and I am a grade 10 student in Australia and am currently interested in aeronautical engineering and would very much appreciate it if you answered my interview questions.

Where do you work?

What is your workplace like?

What sort of training do you need?

What do you do every day?

Do you work on long, major projects?

Where do you start of to get to your current position?

Can you get promoted to higher levels in engineering?

What are work opportunities like?

What are your wages like?

What are your average working hours?

Do you work afterhours?

Do you work weekends?

What sort of clothing do you have to where? Uniform? Casual? Protective?

Are there health and safety issues?

Is there a type of personality needed?

Do you need to be hard working and dedicated?

Answer
Jaya
I get many questions like this so I have a standard reply that may not answer your questions in the correct order, though I must say you have some unusual questions.

Degrees:  BS and MS in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering

Employment:  mostly retired but do some consulting for NASA and industry.  Formerly I was an Aerospace Engineer Group Leader at NASA Ames Research Center responsible for planning and executing wind tunnel studies aimed at improving our understanding of aeronautics and related technologies. I retired in 2004 after 38 years at NASA.

A normal day at NASA involved examination of scientific literature, planning experiments, writing code for data analysis, analyzing experimental results, meeting with my peers, assigning tasks, requesting support from management, writing reports, etc.  I traveled 4 to 6 times a year to various laboratories or scientific conferences.  Much of the work was done in the office, but we also worked in the lab, in the wind tunnels, and in the field conducting experimental studies.  Normally we worked an average 40 hour week, more during wind tunnel tests.  Not counting the wind tunnels, our primary tools were computers, books and technical reports.

The projects I worked on can be found in engineering libraries - search on my name.  One project I was proud of was the investigation of the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.  I did the aero design of the gas sample instrument.  We found what causes the hole, which led to the worldwide banning of fluro-hydrocarbons.  In addition to aerodynamics, I specialized in aeroacoustics and did many wind tunnel studies of aircraft noise and technologies for reducing noise.

I loved the challenge of investigating new technologies, new ideas and working with enthusiastic, talented people.  The downside was dealing the government bureaucracy and interminable meetings on budget planning and self improvement.  I think the same might be true of any large organization.

Education:  Astoria High School (Oregon), Oregon State U. (two years), U. of Washington (three years for a B.S. degree), U. of Washington (one year for a M.S. degree), graduate work Standford U., numerous Jr College classes in computer programming and French.  If possible, I would have taken more classes.

There are no qualifying exams or certifications required for this profession.  Your academic record, work experience, communication skill, etc. will be used by potential employers to determine if you get a job.

In high school I recommend you take as many math and science classes as possible.  That said, many engineering students struggle with writing and English, so be sure to work at that also.  For engineering schools, you can do a google search and narrow your choice down to academic record, location, and cost.  It is hard to find a bad school at the undergraduate level that is accredited.  The more academic experience you get the better.

Now for your unique questions.  Clothing is casual.  Hearing protection is sometimes needed.  Health and safety issues are not unique (usually) -  I did get sucked into a wind tunnel once, but the turbulence screen saved me.  Personality type varies.  You need to be hard working and dedicated, as you would for any job in this world.
Paul