Aerospace Engineering careers
We have a proven record of producing multi-skilled graduates who have the academic expertise, practical experience and transferable skills needed to meet the commercial needs of the industry.
Proven graduate success
- 93% in employment within six months.
- The average starting salary for our graduates is £27,000.
Meet our graduates
What do our graduates do?
The majority of our graduates go into the aerospace sector, working for companies such as BAE Systems, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.
However, the interdisciplinary nature of our degrees means you’ll gain knowledge and skills which are relevant across the engineering sphere, as well as in the Finance and IT industries. Recent graduates have gone onto success in a range of roles:
- Business Analyst, HSBC Global Banking and Markets
- Cost Engineer, ExxonMobil
- Engineering Landing Gear Graduate, Airbus Group
- Graduate Engineer, British Airways
- Graduate Engineer, Rolls-Royce
- Graduate Forensic Engineer, Edif ERA
- Mechanical and Design Analyst, Atkins
- Operations Engineer, EasyJet
- Research, Design and Development Engineer, Dyson
- Rolls-Royce sponsored PhD
- Systems Integration and Validation Engineer, MBDA
- Tax Associate, Deloitte
- Weapons Engineer, Royal Navy
My university assignments with their tight deadlines and presentations emulated current employer expectations; whilst group projects taught ‘emotional intelligence’, negotiation and project management skills.
Katy Greatbatch
New Product Introduction Lead Engineer, Rolls-Royce | MEng Aerospace Engineering
Graduate industries
- Aerospace design
- Aviation
- Transport
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Energy and power
- The Armed Forces
The average starting salary for our graduates is £27,000.
Giving you the skills you need to succeed
You'll graduate with the engineering knowledge and transferable skills needed to excel in the jobs market.
- Project management
- Critical thinking
- Analytical and problem solving
- Team working and independence
- Time-management
- Communication
- Numeracy
The course is tailored to meet future industry needs which is one of the reasons why graduates fit in very well in major organisations both in the UK and abroad. Sheffield has many industrial links specifically with major organisations within the aerospace sector.
Mikil Patel
Principal Engineer, MBDA (Missile Systems) | MEng Aerospace Engineering
Careers support
Our degrees will prepare you for the world of work.
Alongside the practical and technical knowledge you'll gain, our academic and pastoral staff work closely with the Careers Service and Year in Industry Team to deliver a comprehensive programme of tailored careers support in each year of study.
This includes
- one-to-one guidance on how to write persuasive CVs and applications
- advice on how to succeed in interviews
- opportunities to meet recent graduates and find out about their path to success
- engineering-specific recruitment fairs
- industrial networking events and seminars
- employer presentations
- making the most of the many careers events that take place both on campus and beyond
- advice on where to find placements and jobs in your area of interest or field of expertise
Graduate destinations
- Accenture
- Airbus Group
- Atkins
- BAE Systems
- British Airways
- Boeing
- Deloitte
- Dyson
- Ernst & Young
- Ethos Energy
- Frazer-Nash Consultancy
- General Electric Aviation
- GKN Aerospace
- HSBC Global Banking and Markets
- Jaguar Land Rover
- MBDA
- PWC
- QinetiQ
- Rolls-Royce
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Navy
- Schlumbeger
- Shell
- TES Aviation
Industrial partners
Our work with some of the world's leading engineering companies is shaping the future of aerospace engineering globally. These strong links have been established over many years and are built upon a mutually-beneficial relationship.
Major industry choose to work with us because we produce world-leading research and outstanding graduates who make valuable contributions to their companies throughout their careers.
Industrial input is fundamental to the development, design and integrity of our courses. Our students benefit from our strong relationships with these prestigious companies in a variety of ways.
Our partners
- Faculty Aerospace Network
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The Faculty Aerospace Network (FAN) is a vibrant community of academic staff, students, graduates and industrial partners who come together to share knowledge and information about aerospace engineering research and innovation.
There are a number of FAN community events and seminars throughout the year for undergraduate students to get involved in. You'll have the unique opportunity to network with our industrial partners and find out about the world-leading research which is taking place at Sheffield with companies such as Rolls-Royce and Boeing.
- Industrial Training Programme
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Part of our four year MEng, the increasingly popular Industrial Training Programme gives students the opportunity to work on real-life engineering problems set by an industry partner, such as Airbus or Boeing.
You’ll work in groups to apply your engineering knowledge to analyse and solve a relevant open-ended industrial problem. As well as attending academic lectures and small group seminars with industry experts and engineers, you’ll visit industry sites and technology centres as part of the 12 week challenge.
- Our graduates in industry
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Our graduates are now working in some of the world's most prestigious engineering companies. We are proud that so many have gone onto success in a variety of industries and we strive to maintain close links with them throughout their careers.
I’m passionate about encouraging and upskilling the next generation of engineers. My work with the Industrial Advisory Board enables me to do that.
Katy Greatbach
MEng Aerospace Engineering | Lead Engineer, Rolls-Royce
As part of our commitment to providing students with a comprehensive programme of careers support, many of them come back regularly to inform and inspire our current students. They share their expertise, provide information about career opportunities, and advise about the application and interview process.
- Aerospace Industrial Advisory Board
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Engineers from some of the UK's leading engineering companies, including Rolls-Royce, Boeing, Caterpillar and BAE Systems sit on our Industrial Advisory Board.
They inform what we teach and how we run our degrees, share with us the latest industrial developments and give us details of graduate recruitment. They also assess part of the third year MEng Group Design Project. Many members of the board are graduates of our courses, so they are uniquely placed to offer us the benefit of their experience as both a student and a professional engineer.
- Research-led teaching
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Our research informs our teaching. From the moment you join us, you'll be working alongside brilliant researchers. They will share with you the latest developments and techniques that are still new to industry.
- Industrial placements
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Each year, our students are recruited by many of our industrial partners to work on summer internships and year-long placements as part of our Year in Industry degree.
- Innovative practical learning
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Engineers from major industry help to design and run a series of innovative modules designed to equip you with the team-working, communication and project management skills to solve genuine engineering problems. You'll work in interdisciplinary teams with students from other engineering courses for a week on the Global Engineering Challenge in year one and Engineering: You're Hired! in year two. These modules are all about obtaining the skills, and evidence of those skills, that will make you a highly employable engineer.