Career Pathways

Aerospace Career Pathways Handout

Air n' Space-a-Palooza

  • Event date: Saturday, June 27, 2026
  • Event time: 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM
  • Event location: Wings Over the Rockies Exploration of Flight, 13005 Wings Way, Englewood, CO 80112
  • Audience: students, families, career navigators, and aerospace-curious job seekers
  • Main pathway route: `/industries/aerospace`
  • Print artifact: `output/pdf/aerospace-palooza-handout.pdf`
  • Event reference: https://www.adworks.org/event/air-n-space-a-palooza/

Booth Promise

Colorado aerospace is not only one job. Students can start by building, inspecting, flying, repairing, analyzing, coding, teaching, or leading work connected to aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, drones, weather, climate, and advanced aviation systems.

Use the Aerospace pathway to help a student answer three questions:

  1. What kind of aerospace work sounds interesting today?
  2. Which roles can I explore with my current classes, clubs, or credentials?
  3. What education, work-based learning, or degree path could move me toward the next role?

Student-Friendly Pathway Details

| Starting point | Roles to point out | What to say at the table |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Build and repair | Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers; Aerospace Technician | Good fit for students who like hands-on tools, manufacturing, aircraft systems, robotics, or shop/engineering classes. Some roles start with high school, an associate degree, apprenticeship-style experience, or employer training. |

| Fly and operate | Drone Pilot/Technician | Good fit for students who like drones, flight simulators, mapping, photography, robotics, or remote systems. Use this as an exploration hook, then show related technical and operations roles. |

| Design and test | Aerospace Engineer; Aerospace Technicians | Good fit for students who like math, physics, CAD, coding, problem solving, or designing parts and systems. Engineering roles usually expect a bachelor's degree, but the pathway also shows technician-to-engineering routes. |

| Space, weather, and science | Atmospheric and Space Scientist | Good fit for students who ask about satellites, climate, weather, space research, or Earth observation. Most roles expect a bachelor's degree or beyond. |

| Lead teams | First-Line Supervisor of Aerospace Workers | Good fit for families asking how hands-on experience can grow into leadership. Supervisory roles usually build on technical experience plus communication, safety, and team leadership. |

Quick Data Snapshot

  • Aerospace pathway occupations loaded for the route: 10
  • Current statewide annual openings across aerospace occupations with quantitative data: 676
  • Median annual wage across aerospace occupations with statewide wage data: $106,122
  • Average 10-year growth across aerospace occupations with statewide growth data: +7.4%
  • Source periods shown on the live page: September 2025 qualitative workbook and December 2025 quantitative workbook

Talking Points For Families

  • Start at Aerospace, then open the Career Pathway tab before choosing one occupation.
  • The pathway is a map, not a single ladder. A student can compare hands-on, technical, science, and leadership roles.
  • Tags such as Top Job and Green Job have visible definitions on the page. They are data signals, not promises of admission, hiring, or salary.
  • Wages, openings, and growth come from the uploaded quantitative workbook and may change when the source data refreshes.
  • Education details vary by role. Do not tell every student they need a bachelor's degree; show the occupation page for the role they care about.
  • Training and provider matches are useful for exploration, but ETPL/Credential Registry connections still need final source integration before being treated as a complete provider list.

Print Handout Copy

Headline: Colorado Aerospace Career Pathways

Subhead: Build, fly, design, analyze, and lead the systems that connect Colorado to aviation, space, weather, and climate.

Call to action: Open `/industries/aerospace`, choose Career Pathway, then pick one role to compare wages, openings, education, credentials, skills, and training options.

Footer note: Public career-exploration information only. Wage/opening/growth figures are planning signals from source workbooks, not guarantees.

Needs Human Review

  • Confirm final event name spelling and whether the handout should use "Air n' Space-a-Palooza" or a partner-preferred variant.
  • Confirm the final public URL or QR destination before printing.
  • Confirm logo lockup: CWDC, My Colorado Journey, OEDIT, CDLE, Wings Over the Rockies, Aerospace Sector Partnership, and Arapahoe/Douglas Works.
  • Confirm whether the highlighted roles should stay broad or prioritize employer-requested roles for the booth.
  • Confirm whether venue language should say "Wings Over the Rockies Exploration of Flight" or a shorter partner-approved label.