SOC 17-2011BLS OEWS May 2025H-1B LCAs, last 12 months
Perform engineering duties in designing, constructing, and testing aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. May conduct basic and applied research to evaluate adaptability of materials and equipment to aircraft design and manufacture. May recommend improvements in testing equipment and techniques.
National median · BLS
$134,960
▲ +0.1%YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$127,532
▲ +5.22%YoY · 287 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$142,060
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
67,710
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.
Pay range for Aerospace Engineers
Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 287 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.
Percentile
All U.S. workers (BLS)
H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay
$86,700
$90,584
25th
$106,110
$104,537
Median (50th)
$134,960
$127,532
75th
$169,690
$154,975
90th — top pay
$205,890
$183,854
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $127,532 for Aerospace Engineers —
5.5% below
the BLS national median of $134,960.
Hourly ⇄ annual pay
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Monthly—
Every 2 weeks—
Weekly—
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Based on
hrs/week ×
weeks/year
= 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035
Job outlook for Aerospace Engineers
BLS projects employment of aerospace engineers to grow 8.3% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations.
About 3,800 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.
Jobs 2025 → 2035
68,700 → 74,400
+5,700 jobs
Projected change
+8.3%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
3,800
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
0.2% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.
H-1B median$127,532
Change vs prior year+5.22%
After inflation (CPI-U)+2.03%
Wage level
LCAs
Share
P25
Median
P75
Level I
64
22.3%
$82,025
$95,945
$110,270
Level II
100
34.8%
$106,538
$122,000
$137,825
Level III
65
22.6%
$125,715
$144,934
$162,000
Level IV
50
17.4%
$160,540
$182,749
$188,796
H-1B job titles
Salaries by job title in Aerospace Engineers
The 5 most-filed job titles inside SOC 17-2011, from 287 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.
Job title
LCAs
Share
P25
Median
P75
YoY
▶Engineering Consultant
24
8.36%
$94,156
$110,594
$125,715
—
Engineering Consultant · full pay range (24 LCAs)
P10$90,896
P25$94,156
Median$110,594
P75$125,715
P90$138,923
Median by H-1B wage level
Level II$95,24311 LCAs
Level III$125,71513 LCAs
Exact titles filed (5+ LCAs)
Engineering Consultant III - Aerospace11 LCAs · median $125,715
Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
About the job
What aerospace engineers do
Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.
Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
Diagnose performance problems by reviewing reports or documentation from customers or field engineers or by inspecting malfunctioning or damaged products.
Formulate mathematical models or other methods of computer analysis to develop, evaluate, or modify design, according to customer engineering requirements.
Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
Also called
Avionics EngineerDesign EngineerFlight Test EngineerSpecial Mission EngineerAeronautical EngineerAerospace Stress EngineerFlight Controls EngineerFlight Systems Test EngineerStructural Analysis EngineerStructural Test Engineer
Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.
Similar jobs and how they pay
Occupations O*NET lists as closely related to Aerospace Engineers, with BLS national medians compared with this occupation's $134,960.
