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Aerospace engineer: what the job actually is

Designing and testing aircraft, spacecraft and the parts inside them, and proving on paper and in a lab that they will hold together.

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Aerospace engineer: quick facts

Aerospace engineer salary in Ontario: the median pay is $56.41 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is moderate. The job usually needs a university degree.

Median pay in Ontario
$56.41 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$31.25 to $100.00 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Moderate
People working in it in Ontario
2,900
Usually needs
Usually a university degree

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 21390. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Designing, analysing and testing the structures, engines, controls and electronics of aircraft and spacecraft, and the equipment that supports them.
  • Most engineers work on one small piece for years: a wing component, a control system, a landing gear assembly, a test procedure. You rarely design a whole aircraft.
  • The work is heavy on calculation, modelling and testing, with strict documentation because failures are expensive and sometimes catastrophic.
  • It is a different job from an aircraft maintenance engineer, who inspects and certifies the airworthiness of aircraft that already exist and holds a licence from Transport Canada. See /careers/jobs/aircraft-maintenance-engineer.
  • Job Bank notes that demand for aerospace engineers in defence services depends on military spending, so the field is tied to decisions you do not control.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 8:30 — Open the test report from last night's vibration test. A bracket developed a crack.
  2. 9:15 — Compare the crack's position with the model. The model said the stress would be elsewhere.
  3. 10:30 — Meeting with the test technician, who points out the part was mounted slightly differently than drawn.
  4. 11:30 — Rerun the analysis with the real mounting. It now matches the crack.
  5. 12:30 — Lunch, and a conversation about whether a lighter material is worth the extra certification paperwork.
  6. 13:30 — Update the drawing and the change record. Every change in this industry is written down and approved.
  7. 15:00 — Review meeting with other disciplines. Somebody wants the same space for a cable that you want for a reinforcement.
  8. 16:00 — Work out a compromise and the numbers that prove it is safe.
  9. 16:45 — Peer-review a colleague's calculation. Find a sign error.
  10. 17:15 — Leave a note for tomorrow. The part will not fly for a long time.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You are fascinated by how things fly and you are willing to learn the maths behind it.
  • You can stay on one small piece of a big project for a long time.
  • You care that things are written down, checked and approved.
  • You like both calculating and testing physical parts.
  • You can accept that a project may take years before anything flies.
You may hate this if
  • You want to design a whole aircraft. Most engineers own a small component or a single analysis.
  • You dislike documentation and approvals. Safety-critical work runs on them.
  • You want fast results. Development and certification take a long time.
  • You dislike depending on outside decisions. Job Bank notes that defence-related demand follows military spending.
  • You want to work with your hands all day. Many engineers spend most of the day at a computer.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Read what Job Bank says

    Job Bank rates the 2025-2027 Ontario outlook for aerospace engineers as Moderate. It says employment growth will lead to a few new positions, several positions will become available through retirements, and there are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience. It names significant investments in the aerospace cluster and an improvement in global air travel as supports, and lists aerospace manufacturers, engineering services firms and federal government defence services among the main employers.

  2. Earn an engineering degree, aerospace or related

    Job Bank's Ontario page says a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or a related engineering discipline, such as mechanical engineering or engineering physics, is required, and a master's or doctorate in a related discipline may be required. Carleton University's admissions page describes its programme as Canada's first accredited aerospace engineering programme and offers a paid co-op option; other Ontario schools reach this work through mechanical engineering. Compare programmes, and see /careers/degrees/engineering.

  3. Do co-op and gain supervised experience

    Job Bank says engineers are eligible for registration after graduating from an accredited programme, three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering and passing a professional practice examination. Engineers Canada adds good character and the ability to work in English or French as criteria and says experience rules are set by each province's regulator. In Ontario that is Professional Engineers Ontario.

  4. Licence if your work needs it

    Job Bank says licensing is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practise as a Professional Engineer. Whether your employer needs you licensed depends on the role, so ask. Check PEO's own pages for the current application rules, because this page could not read them.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Requirements for aerospace engineers in Ontario · Engineers Canada — Overview of the licensing process · Carleton University — Aerospace Engineering admissions

The money

Aerospace engineer salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$31.25
Low (hourly)
$56.41
Median (hourly)
$100.00
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 21390. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Aerospace engineer wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Moderate3 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Significant investments in the aerospace cluster
  • Improvement in the level of global air travel
  • Demand for aerospace engineers in defence services depends on military spending

Who hires for it

  • Manufacturers of aerospace product and parts
  • Companies that provide engineering and related services
  • Federal government defence services
2,900
people work in this job in Ontario
12%
are women (48% across all jobs)
10%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Aerospace engineers job prospects in Ontario (NOC 21390). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take the highest maths and physics available, and any technology or design course. Check which Grade 12 courses your target programmes require.
  • Join a robotics club, build and fly a model aircraft or rocket with a club, or try a free flight simulator to see how the controls affect the flight.
  • Ask about co-op placements in a manufacturing or engineering-services workplace.
  • Compare the entry requirements and co-op options of two Ontario engineering programmes on ontariouniversitiesinfo.ca.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Test paper aeroplanes like an engineer

About 60 minutes
  1. Fold one paper aeroplane and test it five times from the same spot. Write down how far each flight went.
  2. Change only one thing, such as the wing shape, a small fold at the back or a paperclip on the nose. Test five more flights.
  3. Compare the two sets of five. Decide whether the change was a real improvement or just luck in how you threw it.
  4. Write two sentences on what you would measure to be sure, and what you would change next.

What it tells you. If you cared whether the improvement was real or lucky and wanted to repeat the test, you think like an engineer. If you just enjoyed flying the planes, a pilot or hobbyist route may suit you better. If changing only one thing at a time felt like a chore, note that disciplined testing is most of the job.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What part of an aircraft or spacecraft do you work on, and how long have you worked on it?”
  2. “How did you find your first job, and how important was co-op?”
  3. “How much of your work is calculation and how much is testing real parts?”
  4. “How do you deal with the paperwork that comes with safety-critical work?”
  5. “What is the difference between your job and an aircraft maintenance engineer's?”
  6. “How exposed is your work to decisions you cannot control?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Sometimes, later. Job Bank's figures show a lower share of self-employment among aerospace engineers than in the workforce overall, and most people in the field work for manufacturers or engineering firms. Some experienced engineers consult independently, which usually follows years of experience and a licence.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an aerospace engineer make in Ontario?

The median pay for an aerospace engineer in Ontario is $56.41 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $31.25 to $100.00 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an aerospace engineer in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as moderate for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an aerospace engineer in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Read what Job Bank says; Earn an engineering degree, aerospace or related; Do co-op and gain supervised experience.

Where does an aerospace engineer work in Ontario?

Manufacturers of aerospace product and parts. Companies that provide engineering and related services. Federal government defence services. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as an aerospace engineer in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 2,900 people working in this job in Ontario. 12% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Tech and engineering jobs: who is hiring What can you do with your degree?

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.

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Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

If this appeals, look at these too

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.