programs Match the Promise

Engineering for Space

Ethan – future aerospace engineer

My name is Ethan, and I want to be an aerospace engineer. The reasons I want to be an aerospace engineer are because: I enjoy building things, and I am great at math. This job also pays enough money to support myself and a family in the future. The median annual pay in 2015 was $107,830, according to www.payscale.com/research/US/Job. I have always wanted to be an astronaut, but also an engineer, so I thought aerospace engineering was the way to go. To become an aerospace engineer you need to at least have a Bachelor's degree and be in school for 4 to 7 years. Students in high school should study physics, chemistry, and math; including algebra, trigonometry, and calculus. Aerospace engineers can work for the government, research labs, or commercial organizations such as airports and other related workplaces. This career allowed me to have the best of both worlds and combine my two biggest interests. As I looked for the necessary traits, like having math skills and being able to build things, I found that most of them matched me. Lastly, I researched different things you need to study in high school and at the university level like chemistry, physics, and math, as well as what jobs I could apply for. I have always dreamed of helping NASA make rockets that fly into space. For these reasons, I want to be an aerospace engineer when I grow up.

Ethan's essay appears here as written, to preserve the young author’s unique voice and individual writing style. However, we have deleted personally identifiable information to protect the student’s privacy.