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The route into aerospace engineer

Assembled backwards from the job: the degrees that lead there, the subjects those degrees require, the exams and when they are sat, and what the whole thing costs in years. Print it.

1. Subjects, chosen at fifteen or sixteen

Aggregated across every degree that leads here. Anything marked required closes the door if you skip it.

Saudi curriculum track

مسار علوم الحاسب والهندسة— Computer Science and Engineering

A-Level

  • Mathematicsrequiredfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • Physicsrequiredfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • Further Mathematicshelpsfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • Computer Sciencehelpsfor Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Chemistryhelpsfor Mechanical Engineering
  • Design and Technologyhelpsfor Mechanical Engineering

IB Diploma

  • Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HLrequiredfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • Physics HLrequiredfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • Design Technologyhelpsfor Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
  • Computer Sciencehelpsfor Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Chemistryhelpsfor Mechanical Engineering

Advanced Placement

  • AP Calculus BChelpsfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • AP Physics C: Mechanicshelpsfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetismhelpsfor Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
  • AP Computer Science Ahelpsfor Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • AP Chemistryhelpsfor Mechanical Engineering

2. The degree

More than one route usually exists. They are not equivalent.

  • Aerospace Engineering

    The direct destination — aircraft, propulsion, space systems and defence.

    Four to five years. A master's is common and is close to expected for design roles.

  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

    Avionics and electrical systems, which are an increasing share of every aircraft.

    Four to five years, with a preparatory year common in the Kingdom.

  • Mechanical Engineering

    Aircraft and propulsion — the same fundamentals applied where weight is the binding constraint.

    Four to five years, often including a preparatory or foundation year in the Kingdom and an industrial placement year elsewhere.

  • Physics

    Reachable with an engineering master's, and physics graduates are common in the sector.

    Three to four years, with four-year integrated master's routes standard in the UK for research-bound students.

3. Exams, and when to sit them

Registration deadlines fall weeks or months before the exam. That is what people miss, not the exam.

  • ESAT or PATOctober

    Required at Cambridge, Imperial and Oxford for engineering; not required at most universities.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.
  • Qudurat and TahsiliGrade 11 and 12

    The Saudi engineering composite.

    • Several periods across the yearQudurat (General Aptitude Test), open from Grade 11. Computer-based and paper sittings both run.
    • Final months of the school yearTahsili (Scholastic Achievement Test), sat near the end of Grade 12 once the syllabus is covered.
    • Spring and summer of Grade 12University applications through the unified admission portals and each university's own portal.
  • Security clearanceAt employment, not admission

    Much aerospace work is defence-related and gated on nationality and clearance rather than on qualifications. Worth knowing which employers that opens and closes.

  • ESAT or TMUAOctober

    Required at Cambridge and Imperial; not required by most universities.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.
  • IELTS, TOEFL or STEPBefore enrolment

    Determines whether a preparatory year is required at English-medium engineering colleges.

    • Weekly, year-roundIELTS and TOEFL both run frequently at centres across the Kingdom; Duolingo and PTE can be sat at very short notice.
    • 3 to 13 days after the testResults, depending on the test. IELTS computer-delivered is among the fastest; paper-based is slower.
    • Autumn of Grade 12 at the latestWhen to have sat it by, leaving room for one repeat before offers are decided.
  • PATOctober

    Oxford's engineering, physics and materials test.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.
  • ESATOctober

    Cambridge and Imperial, for natural sciences and physics.

    • July to SeptemberUCAT testing window, sat at a test centre.
    • September to JanuaryLNAT testing window for most law courses.
    • OctoberMost Oxford and Cambridge subject tests — TMUA, ESAT, PAT, TSA.
    • JuneSTEP, sat alongside A-Levels as a condition of a Cambridge or Warwick offer rather than for shortlisting.

4. After the degree

Training, licensing and the years between graduating and practising independently.

United Kingdom

  1. schoolA-levels including Mathematics and Physics2 yr
  2. undergraduateMEng Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering3–4 yrs
  3. trainingGraduate scheme and progress toward chartership3–5 yrs
  4. practiceChartered aerospace engineer0 yr

LicensingChartered Engineer status through a professional institution. Not required to work, expected for senior technical roles. Security clearance is required for most defence work and can take months.

United States

  1. schoolHigh school with calculus and physics4 yr
  2. undergraduateBSc Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering4–5 yrs
  3. trainingGraduate engineer2–4 yrs
  4. practiceAerospace engineer0 yr

LicensingProfessional Engineer licensure is available but uncommon in aerospace. Security clearance and citizenship requirements gate a very large share of American aerospace work, which is the single most important practical constraint for an international student.

Saudi Arabia

  1. schoolSecondary school, science track3 yr
  2. foundationPreparatory year at the university1 yr
  3. undergraduateBSc Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering4 yr
  4. trainingGraduate development programme1–3 yrs
  5. practiceAerospace engineer0 yr

LicensingSaudi Council of Engineers registration.

5. What the route costs

Not tuition — time. The years spent training are years not spent earning, and that is the largest cost of a long route by a wide margin.

United Kingdom

School-leaving to independent practice: 4 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is management consultant at 3 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 1 year by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of £27,000–35,000, that is roughly £27,000–35,000 of earnings deferred.

United States

School-leaving to independent practice: 4–5 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is aircraft maintenance engineer at 4 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 1 year by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of $48,780–62,630, that is roughly $48,780–62,630 of earnings deferred.

Saudi Arabia

School-leaving to independent practice: 5–8 years.

The shortest route needing no degree written up on this site is air traffic controller at 4 years. Someone taking that route has been earning for 4 years by the time this one starts. At their entry pay of SAR 140,000–220,000, that is roughly SAR 560,000–880,000 of earnings deferred.

How that figure was reached, and what it leaves out

It is arithmetic on the sourced figures elsewhere on this site — training years multiplied by the shortest route’s entry pay — not a measurement of anything. It ignores what trainees earn while training, which in medicine and several other routes is a real salary. It ignores the pay you reach afterwards, which for long routes is usually higher and can overtake the gap entirely. And it excludes tuition, deliberately: Saudi public universities charge nationals no tuition, and fees abroad vary so widely by country and university that any single figure would be misleading. Treat it as a sense of scale for the years, not as a calculation of whether a career is worth it.

Everything on this page is assembled from the career page, the majors that lead to it and the exams those majors require, so it cannot say something they do not. Entry requirements change every year — confirm on the course page for the year you apply.