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Where do our alumni end up?

Our graduates have been highly successful in a variety of aerospace and ocean engineering fields

Employers range from large, multinational corporations to small consulting firms.

Some of our alumni choose to go into related fields such as automotive engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, or into professions such as law or medicine.

The department's long history and reputation for excellence have ensured that our graduates are recruited by industry even during difficult economic times.

Among our alumni who enter the work force, most find jobs in the following fields and industries:

Jet turbine engine

Aerospace industry

A ship being built in a drydock

Ship building industry

A rocket launching

Federal Government Agencies: NASA, U.S. Department of Defense, etc.

The box of a cargo ship cutting through smooth water

Maritime agencies

Recent surveys* of AOE graduates indicate:

78%

expected full-time employment

14%

furthered their studies in graduate school

8%

went into the military or volunteer service

* conducted by the Virginia Tech Provost Assessment Office and the Office of Career and Professional Development.

In 2018-19, AOE graduates median salary was $68,000, and of those employed, 82% had jobs related to their major.