Moral question

Is there anything morally wrong about working for a defense company such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, or NG? I mean what one designs there is used to kill others and destroy places.

Some “food for thought”

I was reading the biography of Wernher Von Braun , father of Apollo space program. Ever since he was young he wanted to build space crafts, but he ended up working for the NAZIs building V2s before coming to NASA. He once said about working for the V2 “my job is to make the rocket go in the air, where it lands is not my concern.” That was his attempt console himself, but that statement is not good enough for me. It sounds like he is placing the blame on somebody else, even though he had a part in the destruction.

I want to be an aerospace engineer, but the only peaceful jobs are in commercial airlines which are in Seattle. I live in the northeast and the only jobs there for AE are defense related. I really don’t want to go across the country to work there.

A lot of people in defense feel their job is protecting the country. It just depends on how you look at it.

Aerospace jobs also include commercial rocketry (e.g. Space-X, Blue Origin), although their cargo may be either civilian or military.

I think you will have to consider carefully your options if you don’t want to move for a job. Aerospace often requires that.

These are good questions to ask now.

Do understand that people you respect have wrestled with these ideas and haven’t always arrived at the same answers.

The easy answers are probably wrong.

@PianoWarrior

Kumbaya newsflash:
There are a lot of really awful people in the world trying to kill us (e.g., ISIS, Al Queda, NKorea, etc).

There is a big display on Werhner Von Braun at the space and rocket museum in Huntsville, AL. When we went to visit UAH we stopped in there. That whole trip spiked me down the internet worm-hole looking for more info on all the German scientists who came over here. It’s really interesting to read/learn about.

I think your question is a good one! You should research and ponder it more.

I know Ford and some other automobile companies may hire aerospace engineers. However, that will likely require you to relocate to Michigan.

I’m not sure whether you are just going to be an incoming freshman or whether you have already made significant progress towards your degree, but if you are not that far into your degree, you can consider doing mechanical engineering instead. I would say aerospace engineering is kind of like a focus area of mechanical engineering, and there is a good amount of overlap in the curriculum when you look at what courses you have to take. This will open up a lot more options when it comes to industry.

I agree with @simba9 that a lot of people in these companies see it as protecting our country. It is also protecting those who are serving our country. I also remember hearing that if good moral people avoided the military (or in this case the defense industry) where would we be?

Frankly it’s an issue that you have to consider and you should come to your own conclusions. Most people will shrug it off or give a simple diversion (“it’s not my problem” even when you know full well what will become of your work) because it’s easier not to think about the consequences of your actions on the world (Wall Street is an even better example of this). There is a both a lot of good and a lot of bad that comes from military projects and you have to decide whether or not you are comfortable with what comes of it.

FWIW, in interviews with defense contractors, I have been asked about whether or not I have moral objections to that line of work, with the understanding that being willing to work in that capacity is a prerequisite for working for a defense contractor.

Von Braun was brilliant, but he knew that concentration camp prisoners were manning the factories he was overseeing, too. It certainly taints my view of him as a human being. There are a lot of engineering jobs that don’t involve making weapons (most engineering jobs don’t). I have found as an adult that there are always job opportunities with companies engaged in morally questionable industries or practices – but unless you are desperate to feed your family or keep a roof over your head, there are plenty of other jobs as well. Someone probably will take those jobs, but it doesn’t have to be you.

Many aerospace engineers work on NASA projects. While there is definitely some cross-talk between military and NASA, the main focus of most NASA projects is exploration. You can choose to limit yourself to jobs that you find morally within your bounds.

Is there anything wrong with serving in the military? Or choosing to live in a country that uses its military as the US does?

There is a difference between morality and squeamishness - some people find out how meat is made and just decide they don’t want to work as butchers, others become vegetarians. If you are just squeamish about being a part of the defense industry then, as others have already mentioned, there are other options, although admittedly limited if you want to work in aerospace. If you really see this as a moral issue then I think you need to examine whether you dislike the idea of a military or just how the US operates, because the consequence of that will (I think) be pretty influential in how you live your life, not just what you study.

There certainly are conscientious objectors to military service, Typically they serve in other non-military roles in times of war. And our political process gives individuals the opportunity to vote for those who share their opinions on military policy. Or they can even run for office if they want to have more influence. None of those actions are far out of the mainstream – if an individual choises not to work for weapons manufacturers, they may indeed also consider other actions as a citizen that are aligned with those beliefs.

I’d also note that a lot of technology developed as part of defense programs eventually finds its way into the commercial and consumer sectors.

I’m not an aerospace guy, but I have worked on both sides, i.e. military and commercial, in the nuclear power world. It’s a clear example of how tech developed for one side made it to the other. As for the morality question, my response would be that there are professionals working in the industry and they take their job seriously. I can see that some folks may disagree with the deployment of submarines and such, for very valid and personal reasons. But please do not conclude that those working in defense industries are the antithesis of a conscientious objector. The general attitude I have experienced is best summed up by the saying “A soldier trains for war, but pray for peace”

@intparent, I was trying to draw lines between those who have an issue with the existence of the military, those who just have an issue with how it has been or is being used, and those who simply don’t want to be personally involved with the business of war.

Yes, I agree that there are gradiations in beliefs and actions related to this.

True, and it’s also the case that products from the commercial and consumer sectors are used by the defense sector.

When I was working on a military project at Boeing, one of my co-workers left because he didn’t want to work in the defense sector anymore. He took a job at Honeywell working in their avionics group, apparently without realizing that the avionics he would be working on would be used in both civilian and military planes.

You all gave interesting point of views!

I will be attending college soon. The sticking point is that I am close to family and friends so I would like to be in a good driving distance from them (like five or 6hrs, so I can visit them every weekend). Since I live in NJ, I’d prefer to work from MA to PA to MD.

My goal is to one day work for NASAbecause I believe it is a focal point of innovation. Unfortunately, with all the bureacracy in Congress, NASA will be hiring a small amount of AE. Add in the fierce competition from MIT and CalTech grads, I probably will not get hired after graduation. Being realistic, I am just saying I will probably work for a defense company first, and then work for NASA.

I really want to have good feelings working for a defense company. I don’t want to feel squeamish when people say comments such as “oh you work for a company that prides on spilling the blood of others” or “you will design a plane that will kill orphans in other countries!” (I know extreme examples but you get my point)