Aerospace Engineer

Aerospace engineers design, build and test aircraft, spacecraft, satellites and missiles. Much of the work is analysis and design on a computer, which is the kind of work AI is starting to speed up. But the industry is moving slowly. Deloitte's 2026 aerospace and defense outlook says most companies "remain in early adoption stages," partly because of safety risks and regulation, and that AI on the factory floor will stay "targeted and incremental" through 2028. The change new graduates will feel is in what employers expect: Deloitte says entry-level hires are expected to pick up AI skills quickly, and it describes a future of "hybrid human-AI teams."

Demand is strong. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects aerospace engineering jobs to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average, with about 3,800 openings a year on a base of 68,700 jobs. BLS points to aircraft being redesigned to burn less fuel and make less noise, cheaper satellite launches, and growing use of drones. Defense work adds a barrier to entry that also protects those inside it: engineers on national-defense projects may need a security clearance, and some clearances require US citizenship, which keeps the pool of eligible engineers small.

That is the rubric's picture of a 2: AI makes engineers more productive, and growing demand soaks up the gain. What would change the score: evidence that AI design and simulation tools let aerospace teams hire fewer junior engineers for the same programs, or a drop in defense and space spending that removes the demand cushion.