Career in Aeronautical Engineering

Now we have an idea that Aeronautical engineers design, develop and maintain aircrafts to ensure high level of technical precision and safe operations. They work in close coordination with aircraft maintenance engineers and flight maintenance teams.

In India, the government aeronautical engineers are mostly employed following organizations:

• Civil Aviation Department
• Government owned air services.
• National Aeronautical Laboratory,
• Defence Research and Development Laboratories (DRDO) and
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
• ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization)
• The Defence Ministry of India

Apart from above government organizations, there are many other sectors where Aeronautical Engineers can make their careers. These are:

• Airlines
• Corporations
• Flying clubs
• Private airlines
• Aeronautical Development Establishments
• Aircraft manufacturers
• Aeronautical Laboratories

Some jobs are available with international government agencies such as NASA. A good percentage of Indians constitute the work force of engineers and technical professionals in NASA. There are many job opportunities for aeronautical engineers are also available in countries like USA, France, UK and Germany.

For Fresher the minimum salary starts from 4 Lakh per annum. After gaining some experience in this field a person can earn more than 10 lakh in a year.

Aeronautical engineers are responsible for the design, research, and production of aircraft, aerospace equipment, spacecraft, satellites and missiles.

Their job entails research and development, testing, parts assembly, the maintenance of aircrafts and missiles. Some aeronautic engineers specialize in studying the effects of aircraft on the environment, the potential dangers of new aircraft technologies and fuel efficiency. Within aeronautical engineering, a person may focus on the design of aircraft systems, also called avionics.

Aeronautical engineers also develop and design extraordinary technologies such as supersonic jets, helicopters, space shuttles, satellites and rocket search and selection.

Students who want to build their career as aeronautic engineers are advised to prepare for the career path well in advance by focusing their studies on science and mathematics in high school. Students who have successfully completed 12th or equivalent with PCM/ PCB are eligible to apply for the entrance exam for Aeronautical Engineering for B.tech. course. The minimum percentage required for it is 60% for most of the entrance examinations.

The students who are appearing for 12th exam are also eligible to apply for the test provided that they should submit the qualifying certificates at the time of admission.

Students in the age group between 17 to 25 years are only eligible to apply. Five-year relaxation will be given to the reserved category candidates.

For M. Tech course, the candidate should have a B. Tech degree with a minimum passing percentage in an aggregate of the subjects studied at the degree level.

There are two main courses available in Aeronautical Engineering. These are B. Tech and M. Tech. Students can also go for PHD Program.  Some colleges and universities offer cooperative programs or internship opportunities that allow students to gain hands-on experience as they finish their degree programs. No licensing is required for entry-level engineering positions; however, engineers in higher-level positions must be licensed as professional engineers.

For Graduation level course, the test will include questions from subjects such as:

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Mathematics

The questions asked will be of the objective nature and students need to select the correct answer from the given 4 options. The time allotted for this exam will be 3 hours.

• All India Engineering/ Architecture Entrance Examination (AIEEE)
• The Indian Institute of Aeronautics (IIA) Entrance Exam
• IISAT Admission Test (IIST, Thiruvananthapuram)
• Delhi University Combined Entrance Examination (CEE)
• Hindustan University Entrance Test (HITSEE)
• SLIET Entrance Test (SET)
• JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) conducted by the IIT’s.
• SRM Engineering Entrance Examination (SRM EEE) Admissions

For master degree, a student has to go through following exams.

• Sathyabama University ME Entrance Exam
• Punjab Engineering college PhD Entrance exam
• Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE)

The key points of the syllabus are given below:

• Engineering Mathematics
• Engineering Physics
• Engineering Mechanics
• Engineering Graphics
• Basic Civil Engineering
• Basic Mechanical Engineering
• Basic Electrical Engineering
• Basic Electronics Engineering & Information Technology
• Economics and Communication Skills
• Fluid Mechanics
• Basic Thermodynamics
• Elements of Aeronautics
• Basic Strength of Materials
• Aerodynamics
• Aircraft Structures
• Electrical technology & Machines
• Computer Programming
• Avionics
• Experimental Aerodynamics
• Theory of Vibration
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Experimental stress analysis
• Aircraft design
• Aircraft systems and instrumentation
• Experimental stress analysis Lab
• Rockets & Missile
• Introduction to space technology
• Air transportation & Aircraft maintenance

• Guru Gram Institute of Aeronautical Engineering and Technology, Gurgaon
• Engineers Training Centre ( E.T.C), Thrissur
• Guru Gram Institute of Aeronautical Engineering and Technology, Nagpur
• Adhiyamaan College of Engineering, Hosur
• Guru Nanak Engineering College, Hyderabad
• Flytech Aviation Academy, Secunderabad
• Hindustan University, Kelambakkam (Tamil Nadu)
• Indian Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Dehradun
• Hindusthan Institute of Technology, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
• Indian Institute for Aeronautical Engineering and Information Technology, Pune (Maharashtra)
• Hindusthan College of Engineering and Technology (HICET), Coimbatore
• Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology (H.I.E.T), Chennai
• Institute of Aeronautical and Marine Engineering, Bangalore (Karnataka)
• Bharat Institute of Engineering and Technology (B.I.E.T.), Hyderabad
• Jain University, Bangalore (Karnataka)
• Karpagam Institute of Technology, Coimbatore
• Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore
• M.L.R. Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
• Jaya Engineering College, Thiruvallur
• M.V.J. College of Engineering, Bangalore
• M.N.R. College of Engineering, Hyderabad
• Mohamed Sathak Engineering College, Ramanathapuram
• Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
• Nehru Institute of Engineering and Technology (N.I.E.T.), Coimbatore
• Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre, Thrissur
• Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh
• Park College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore
• Sai Flytech Aviation Private Limited, Bilaspur
• School of Aeronautics, Dwaraka (Gujarat)
• Siddhartha Institute of Aeronautical Engineering and Information Technology, Bangalore (Karnataka)
• Sathyabama University, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
• R.V.S. (Ratnavel Subrahmaniam) College of Engineering and Technology
• Tagore Engineering College (T.E.C.), Chennai
• Vel Tech Engineering College, Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
• Rajasthan Institute of Technology and Engineering Science, Kota
• Institute of Information Technology and Managements Aeronautical Engineering Training Academy, Pune (Maharashtra)
• The Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Bangalore
• V.S.M. Institute of Aerospace Engineering and Technology, Bangalore
• Hindustan Institute of Engineering Technology
• IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Mumbai
• Institute of Information Technology & Management’s Aeronautical Engineering Training Academy, Pune

Aeronautical Engineering is the field of engineering concerned with the study, design, and development of the techniques of operating aircraft or flight-capable machines. This course trains a student in construction, designing, testing and analysis of commercial or military aircrafts, missiles, and spacecrafts. The topics entailed in Aeronautic Engineering include propulsion, materials science, avionics and aerodynamics. The course also includes the study of the development of new technologies in commercial aviation, defence systems, and space exploration.