Considering a Future in Aerospace? Here's what you should know

Great Expectations
“The growth of the domestic and international economy naturally boosts the aerospace sector. Optimism also stems from the growth of air passenger traffic by 20%, after being limited to single-digit growth for several years. Our country’s size demands a robust civil-aviation system. Secondly, the need for effective defence systems will require in-country production of aviation defence systems. As the potential in these sectors is yet to be realised, tremendous opportunity exists,” says Arijit Ghosh, President, Aerospace, Honeywell India.
22-year-old Bangalorian, HV Vivek, who has a B. Tech in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras believes, “More Indian companies and multinationals are setting up shop here. The Indian space programme is also maturing. If you’re interested in research, most top-tier colleges (IITs) are involved in cutting-edge research, as are DRDO, HAL and ISRO”.
23-year-old Naman Rawal from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, who has been studying Aerospace Engineering at IIT Kanpur, says, “India can provide something different to the industry. It lacks infrastructure; but that seems to be changing”.
26-year-old Nandakishore MM from Kochi, Kerala, who has a BTech in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Madras, thinks, “India has excellent opportunities in space research. As more companies establish and expand their engineering centres in India, opportunities will increase”.

Education Wise
Core subjects include aerodynamics, structural mechanics, propulsion and flight mechanics. Science basics and courses on computer science and other engineering streams are also offered. Aerospace Engineering gave Vivek an opportunity to pursue his passions—engineering, science and math. “The Indian education system is not lacking per se, but there is too much variation between top- and lower-tier colleges,” he tells us.
Nandakishore, who was fascinated with quadcopters, aircrafts and rockets as a child, found, “courses were theoretical in nature and ideal for students interested in research, but lacked exposure to industry practices. The six-week internship was a good opportunity”.
Naman, whose pursuit of Aerospace Engineering started off as a fascination with flying, space, stars and the cosmos, was initially disappointed because the aerospace curriculum at IIT Kanpur was “theoretical and did not allow us to explore outside the curriculum”.  
“All education systems have their drawbacks and therefore all our recruits go through specific training,” says Arijit. “Of course, there is room for improvement, but we have never had difficulty finding and hiring good engineers. That said, there are very few institutes in India where aerospace engineering is part of the curriculum.”  

Recruitment & Training
“It is one thing to recruit engineers and another to enable them to succeed. This requires years of education, development and training,” believes Arijit. Honeywell sponsors private pilots’ licenses for its aerospace engineers, because it believes it is “essential for them to experience the cockpit to be able to create solutions that work for it”.
The high level of specialisation required in this field makes lateral job movement tough. Someone who has been working on developing gas-turbine propulsion systems, is not necessarily qualified to design an aircraft or a navigation system for a frigate or a bomber.

Job Profile
Aerospace engineers at Honeywell are primarily involved in designing systems and sub-systems that go inside planes. This could involve working with radar, avionics, new auto-pilot systems, navigation and landing systems, gas-turbine and propulsion technology, and almost all the technologies that go on board airplanes and helicopters globally.
Nandakishore tells us, “It is a false idea that the aerospace industry consists of mostly aerospace engineers.” Arijit corroborates, “We hire electrical, electronics, chemical, mechanical, production and manufacturing engineers, as well as science majors with post-doctoral degrees in subjects such as physics and math, material sciences or metallurgy”.
Vivek develops cabin management systems for Honeywell while  Nandakishore designs cockpit displays and Naman specialises in rotorcraft modelling and simulation. All agree that on-the-job training is essential.

Best Places to Work
“The best companies to work for depends on personal interest. Nontheless, most aerospace engineers would love to work at NASA, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, Boeing, Airbus, SpaceX and Rolls Royce. The best aerospace-related companies to work for in India include private companies such as Honeywell, Airbus, Boeing, Rolls Royce and PSUs such as DRDO, ISRO and HAL,” says Vivek.
“Working at Indian institutes such as ISRO, DRDO, NAL, HAL requires a Master’s or Doctorate degree for better job positions,” points out Nandakishore. “Globally, there’s Honeywell, Rolls Royce, GE and Airbus.”

Top Aerospace Engineering Colleges in India

Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Bombay
www.iitb.ac.in
B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Madras
www.iitm.ac.in
B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK)
www.iitk.ac.in
B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering
Anna University
B.E. in Aeronautical Engineering
www.annauniv.edu   
Manipal Institute of Technology
manipal.edu/mit
B.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering
Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST)
www.iiests.ac.in
B.E in Aerospace Engineering
PEC University of Technology
www.pec.ac.in
B.E in Aerospace Engineering
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University
www.jntuh.ac.in
B.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering
Madras Institute of Technology - Anna University
www.mitindia.edu
B.E in Aeronautical Engineering
Acharya Institute of Technology
www.acharya.ac.in
B.E in Aeronautical Engineering
Sathyabama University
www.sathyabamauniversity.ac.in
B.E in Aeronautical Engineering
M.V.J. College of Engineering
www.mvjce.edu.in
B.E in Aeronautical Engineering
GMR Institute of Technology
www.gmrit.org
B.E. (Hons.) + B.Tech. in Aircraft Engineering
www.shiksha.com