Aerospace and defense.

The Washington Business Journal of August 3, 2004 says that college graduates should be saying, "So long, Peace Corps, hello, defense industry." But the Journal adds this note: "Defense contractors are being flooded with telecom and Internet castoffs." If you are interested in working for either the aerospace or the defense industry, should you worry? Most jobs within the industries require graduates with degrees in engineering, physics, math, and computers, degrees in areas unlikely to be found among telecom and Internet castoffs. As for growth, the S & P Aerospace & Defense index rose 21.1% in 2003. Both industries show signs of excellent job opportunities for collegians.

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The global aerospace and defense industry consists of three major components: commercial aircraft, military weapons, and rockets and satellites. It is a $350 billion industry. In 2003 about 20 aerospace companies accounted for $140.6 billion and 100 defense contractors accounted for $197.4 billion, a figure that includes revenue from companies manufacturing rockets and satellites. The total for the aerospace and defense is $338.0 billion. That figure is up from $234.0 billion in 2002 for the same aerospace and defense contractors. Another $112.0 billion is spread among hundreds of small defense contractors. Figures for 2004 indicate continued growth for the industry. However, that growth continues to be slow, about 4% according to Standard and Poor's monthly industry reports. Not all areas of the aerospace industry and the defense industry show that same growth rates. Except for rockets and satellites, 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused slow-downs in the growth rate of the aerospace and defense industries. The reason for the slow-down is the US government's restriction of sales of military aircraft, satellites, and ordinances to other countries. Three primary segments of the aerospace and defense industries, commercial aircraft, military weapons, and rockets and satellites make up this report.

The Aerospace Industry

The aerospace industry itself comprises companies producing aircraft, guided missiles, space vehicles, aircraft engines, propulsion units, and related parts. It includes companies that overhaul aircraft, rebuild aircraft, and manufacture parts.

Companies manufacturing civil transport aircraft make up the largest part of the civil, non-military, portion of the industry. Civil transport aircraft, ranging from small turboprops to jumbo jets, move people and goods all over the world. It also includes general aviation aircraft, those that range from small two-seaters to corporate jets, and civil helicopters commonly used by police, medical services, and businesses such oil and mining companies that must transport workers to and from worksites.

Companies manufacturing aircrafts and helicopters purchased by governments for defense constitute the military portion of the aerospace industry. Many of these aircraft are specifically designed to deliver powerful ordnances to military targets.

In 2002, about 2,800 companies made up the aerospace industry, an industry that includes companies that manufacture parts. Most of the companies in the aerospace parts industry are subcontractors that employ fewer than 100 workers. Most jobs, 64%, in aerospace manufacturing are in large establishments that employ 1,000 or more workers. The health of the aerospace industry depends upon six segments, the focus here: large commercial aircraft, business & regional aircraft, military aircraft, MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul), jet engines and civil avionics.

Commercial Aircraft

From the perspective of frequent flyers, the commercial aircraft segment of the industry seems to be larger than it is. According to Avitas Inc., airlines across the globe operate about 11,500 wide and narrow-body jet aircraft. US airlines fly about half, 5,750, of these. For 2003, the global market required only 500 new aircraft. Large commercial aircraft generated about $47.4 billion in 2003, according to S & P's Industry Profiles. Of this amount, Airbus SAS accounted for $23.8 billion and Boeing Company about $22.4 billion in 2003. For 2004, S & P's Reports forecast that revenues from this sector will remain flat at $47.4 billion. The way in which commercial and military aircraft are designed, developed, and produced is undergoing significant change in response to the need to cut costs and deliver products more quickly. Growth will occur among manufacturers of small jets, but this increase will not be noticed until 2005, because it takes about 18 months to manufacture a plane.

Business and Regional Aircraft

Five major builders of business and regional aircraft earned an estimated $15.9 billion in 2003, 1.3% less than the $17.5 billion in 2002. General Dynamic Corp's Gulfstream unit is the second largest manufacturer of business and regional aircraft, at $2.9 billion and an 18% market share, according to S & P's. Textron Inc.'s Cessna division and Raytheon Co.'s business jet division make up an additional US total of $5.2 Billion, or 32%.

Military Aircraft

Companies manufacturing military aircraft are parts of both the aerospace industry and the defense industry. These companies manufacture aircraft designed and built according to performance specifications of the military agent purchasing the aircraft. The design and manufacture of technologically sophisticated products ordered by US military agents require the input and skills of highly trained professionals. Thus companies manufacturing military aircraft need highly educated aerospace-related professionals working in research and development in physics, mathematics, and most areas of engineering. Most of the jobs in this part of the industry require a bachelor's degree in a specialized field such as electrical engineering. Many require education beyond a bachelor's degree.

Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MROs)

MRO contractors consist largely of those in the repair service and replacement parts sales to the global commercial airline industry, the largest being in repair and overhaul operations. In 2003, MROs accounted for $36.1 billion of the revenue generated by the aerospace sector. Major US companies are General Electric (GE) Company's jet engine division, United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney and flight Systems segment, Honeywell International Inc.'s aerospace unit, Goodrich Corp.'s aerospace segment, and Boeing's aviation support services division. Smaller MRO companies include AAR Corp, $606 million, Mercury Air Group Inc., $420 million, and HEICO Corp., $176 million.

Jet Engines

Manufacturers of jet engines make up $31.0 billion of the revenues generated by the aerospace sector. The largest of these manufacturers are GE's Jet Engine Division, $10.7 billion and United Technology's Pratt & Whitney division, $7.5 billion. Rolls-Royce of the United Kingdom, $7.7 billion, and SNECMA SA of France, $5.1 billion, constitute the remaining major manufacturers. Boeing and Airbus are the primary users of jet engines, these used for their big commercial aircraft.

Civil Avionics

Civil avionics businesses produce cockpit instruments: 1) communications equipment, 2) radar, 3) computer displays, 4) anticollision systems, 5) fuel indicators, 6) engine controls, and 7) autopilot systems. Two US companies accounted for most of the $10.2 billion sales this industry generated in 2003: Honeywell International Inc. and Rockwell Collins Inc.

Working conditions

Unlike in the past, engineers, scientists, and technicians today in the aerospace industry work in office setting or laboratories, although production engineers may spend much of their time with production workers on the factory floor. These facilities are spacious, well lit, and modern.

Employment

Aerospace manufacturing provided 468,000 jobs in 2002. For 2004, that number will be about the same. The largest number of aerospace jobs was in Washington and California, although many were located in Kansas, Texas, Connecticut, and Arizona.

The design and manufacture of the technologically sophisticated products of the aerospace industry require skilled professional and related managerial jobs. Those employed in managerial and administrative support occupations manage the design process and factory operations, coordinate the hundreds of thousands of parts that are assembled into an aircraft, and ensure compliance with Federal regulations. The aerospace industry has a larger proportion of college-trained workers than the average for all industries.

Because the industry is on the leading edge of technology and constantly is striving to create new products and improve existing ones, it invests a great amount of time and money in research and development, much of that work is done by professionals, who make up about 31 percent of the workforce. A bachelor's degree in a specialized field such as engineering is required for many of the jobs in the aerospace industry. A master's or doctoral degree is preferred for a few.

Internships and job application

All of the major companies within the aerospace industry offer internships. All recruit on college campuses. Each has a web site for posting resumes. You may also post your resume with IMDiversity at www.IMDiversity.com and with THE BLACK COLLEGIAN at www.blackcollegian.com.

Salaries

A beginning engineer starting with Boeing in the aerospace industry in the state of Washington can expect to begin earning about $60 thousand, according to Barbara A. Murphy of Boeing. She quickly adds, however, that beginning salaries vary, even for Boeing, depending on location and any experience, including an internship, a new hire might have. Entry-level salaries are competitive across both the aerospace and defense industries. The level is influenced by locale.

The Defense Industry

For 2002, one hundred defense contractors generated $197.4 billion. For 2003 that figure was $197.5 billion. Seven companies produced most of the revenue generated by the defense industry. According to Defense News statistics, "The world's largest defense contractors include Lockheed Martin Corp., $31.8 billion, the Boeing Co., $27.4 billion, Northrop Grumman Corp., $23.8 billion, BAE Systems, $17.8 billion, Raytheon Co., $13.4 billion, and EADS, $9.9 billion. Almost all of the contracts for those segments are accounted for by contracts with the US Department of Defense, the world's largest weapons systems market. Over all, the US military accounts for 40% of total global military expenditures, according to S & P's. Because of the huge military build up through 2008, S & P's Index projects that the growth rate of major defense contractors is likely to remain unchanged, especially since the Secretary of Defense no longer sees the need to maintain huge arsenals of traditional weapons systems. The Quadrennial Defense Review Report (QDR) of September 30, 2001 gives a report on Defense Department spending from 1982 through 2008.

Thirteen of the 100 leading defense contractors are as follows:

Lockheed Martin, $26,578 million, 87.8% of total budget

Boeing, $54,000 million, 40.8% of total budget

Raytheon, 16,760 million, 91.2% of total budget

BAE Systems, $19,485 million, 77.2% of total budget

Northrop Grumman, $17,206 million, 70.8% of total budget

General Dynamics, $17,206 million, 71.0% of total budget

Thales, $11,636 million, 65.8% of total budget

EADS, $31,344 million, 20.1% of total budget

Finmeccanica, $8,133 million, 47.9% of total budget

Honeywell, $24,000 million, 15.8% of total budget

United Technologies, $28,200 million, 12.8% of total budget

L-3 Communications, $4,011 million, 89.3% of total budget

Science Applications International, $5,903 million, 51.6% of total budget

General Electric Co, $131,698 million, 2% percent of total budget

(Statistics taken from S & P's Industry Survey, Vol. 1 A-D, July 2004. See p. 8 for a listing of the top 100.)

Rockets and Satellites

The space industry, consisting of satellite manufacturing and rocket manufacturing, and launch operations, is a part of the defense industry, because most of the sales in satellite manufacturing are for military and government satellites. It has three sectors that generated $7.5 billion in 2002, according to Standard and Poor's Market Analysis. Those sectors are commercial (44% of 2002 revenue) nondefense government/university (40%), and military (16%). Four US companies dominate the space industry: Boeing's satellite systems division, Lockheed Martin's space systems segment, and Loral Space & Communications Ltd's SS/L unit, and Orbital Science Corp. These companies continue to hire because the demand for new satellites continues to increase.

The space industry S & P report was "driven by forecasts of robust long-term demand for satellite-based telecommunications and broadband services. However, actual end-market demand did not come close to matching those overly optimistic projections."

As a consequence, major satellite-builders did not grow for 2002. Higher sales of military and government satellites have allowed the industry to grow for 2003 and 2004.

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Lawanda Penland is a Senior Software Engineer at Raytheon. For five years at Raytheon, she has been "programming in a real-time environment, coordinating a software effort at a customer's site, conducting trade studies and performing cost analysis."

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"I truly enjoy my job," she says. "I believe that working in the defense industry has given me the opportunity to explore a vast array of the program life cycle. I have experience in not only the entire software development phase but also software quality including process and logistics engineering.

"More specifically working at Raytheon has challenged me in new and exciting ways technically. It has been an excellent experience to be able to work with cutting edge technology daily. Raytheon is one of the leaders in diversity, we are continually making strides that other companies are challenged to follow."

She says that she has been the CEO of her career and advises Black Collegians always to be the CEOs of their careers.