Aerospace engineers design, develop, and test aircraft, spacecraft, and missiles and supervise the production of these products. Those who work with aircraft are called aeronautical engineers, and those working specifically with spacecraft are astronautical engineers. Aerospace engineers develop new technologies for use in aviation, defense systems, and space exploration, often specializing in areas such as structural design, guidance, navigation and control, instrumentation and communication, or production methods. They also may specialize in a particular type of aerospace product, such as commercial aircraft, military fighter jets, helicopters, spacecraft, or missiles and rockets, and may become experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, or guidance and control systems.

Aerospace engineers are expected to have slower-than-average growth in employment over the projection period. Although increases in the number and scope of military aerospace projects likely will generate new jobs, increased efficiency will limit the number of new jobs in the design and production of commercial aircraft. Even with slow growth, the employment outlook for aerospace engineers through 2014 appears favorable: the number of degrees granted in aerospace engineering declined for many years because of a perceived lack of opportunities in this field, and, although this trend is reversing, new graduates continue to be needed to replace aerospace engineers who retire or leave the occupation for other reasons.

Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering that concerns aircraft, spacecraft, and related topics. Originally called aeronautical engineering and dealing solely with aircraft, the broader term "aerospace engineering" has replaced the former in most usage, as flight technology advanced to include craft operating outside Earth's atmosphere.  

Modern flight vehicles must undergo severe conditions such as differences in atmospheric pressure and temperature, or heavy structural load applied upon vehicle components; numerous matters must be taken into account. Consequently, they are usually products of complex synthesis of various technologies and sciences, including but not limited to aerodynamics, materials science and electronics. The knowledge and the process of combining these various branches of studies are what is collectively known as aerospace engineering. This complex characteristic keeps a single aerospace engineer from involving in the entire task; rather, aerospace engineering is conducted by a team of engineers, each specializing in their own branches of science. The development and manufacturing of a flight vehicle is basically a process to carefully balance and compromise between the abilities, performance, available technology and costs.