---
title: "Will AI Replace Aerospace Engineers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates aerospace engineers' exposure to AI as very high. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+8.3%…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-aerospace-engineers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Aerospace Engineers? (2026)

**Short answer:** AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places aerospace engineers in its very high AI exposure category, among the occupations most exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +8.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 3,800 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Very high | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 24/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +8.3% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 3,800 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $134,960 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high (this job) | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Face-to-face discussions: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Making decisions and solving problems: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Thinking creatively: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Processing information: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 4.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Analyzing data or information: 4.4/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## O\*NET tasks

- Evaluate product data or design from inspections or reports for conformance to engineering principles, customer requirements, environmental regulations, or quality standards.
- Write technical reports or other documentation, such as handbooks or bulletins, for use by engineering staff, management, or customers.
- Direct or coordinate activities of engineering or technical personnel involved in designing, fabricating, modifying, or testing of aircraft or aerospace products.
- Plan or conduct experimental, environmental, operational, or stress tests on models or prototypes of aircraft or aerospace systems or equipment.
- Maintain records of performance reports for future reference.
- Formulate conceptual design of aeronautical or aerospace products or systems to meet customer requirements or conform to environmental regulations.

## Related careers less exposed to AI than aerospace engineers

- [Aircraft Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aircraft-mechanic): BLS exposure Low, median $79,870; [Will AI replace aircraft mechanics?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-aircraft-mechanics)
- [Avionics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/avionics-technician): BLS exposure Moderate, median $82,280
- [Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electro-mechanical-and-mechatronics-technologist-and-technician): BLS exposure Moderate, median $73,900
- [Mechanical Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician): BLS exposure High, median $74,510
- [Marine Engineer and Naval Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marine-engineer-and-naval-architect): BLS exposure High, median $112,230
- [Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineering-and-operations-technologist-and-technician): BLS exposure High, median $82,890

## FAQ

**Will AI replace aerospace engineers?**

AI will reshape this job more than most, but BLS does not forecast it disappearing. The exposure is among the highest BLS measured, yet it still projects employment to grow faster than average. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +8.3% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 3,800 openings a year.

**How exposed are aerospace engineers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Aerospace Engineers are in the very high category, alongside 198 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of an aerospace engineer's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, processing information and evaluating information to determine compliance with standards. The parts that hold up best are face-to-face discussions, inspecting equipment, structures, or materials and making decisions and solving problems. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being an aerospace engineer a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, aerospace engineers score 24 out of 100, higher than 14% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $134,960 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to aerospace engineers are less exposed to AI?**

Aircraft Mechanic (low exposure, $79,870 median), Avionics Technician (moderate exposure, $82,280 median), Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologist and Technician (moderate exposure, $73,900 median), Mechanical Engineering Technologist and Technician (high exposure, $74,510 median). Each is in a lower BLS exposure category than aerospace engineers, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineer.

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This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology