<p>How is the job outlook? </p>
<p>I'm planning on getting my PhD out of my undergrad.</p>
<p>Are you looking into going into industry or academia with your PhD?</p>
<p>Nonetheless, aerospace, and especially defense, is a very cyclical industry. If you’re just starting undergrad, the job outlook may look very different ~8yrs down the road than it does now.</p>
<p>As for right now, the aerospace and defense industry is shrinking pretty drastically, mostly as a result of the DoD’s decreased budget and the impending sequestration legislation.</p>
<p>1) Aerospace is cyclical, as gstein already pointed out. Right now it is kind of in the middle. Lockheed, for example, is laying off people here soon. On the other hand, Boeing is seeing a ton of success right now riding the success of its Dreamliner and both Boeing and Airbus predict huge growth in their commercial sectors. The defense side right now is hurting, however.</p>
<p>2) Having a PhD somewhat insulates you from this cycle. If you are going for a PhD job, usually your networking at conferences, your publication record and the connections of your advisor have a much bigger role in getting you hired. If you do industry, usually you are filling some niche role that isn’t as susceptible to minor cyclical behavior (nothing is recession-proof, however) and if you go into a national lab or academia or NASA then it is a different animal from industry altogether.</p>