A study published this week in the Washington Post found that aerospace engineering majors report the second lowest rate of under-employment.

Put another way: aerospace engineers will have little trouble finding jobs.

For Julia Lundrigan, the driving force behind theSept. 10 AE Career Fair, just finding a job isn't enough.

“It’s about finding the right job, the career that fits your interests,” says the second-year AE doctoral student.

“If it weren’t for research and co-ops that I got to pursue as an undergraduate at Tech, I would have earned a degree in something I didn’t want. I’m still involved in the Career Fair because I want other students to get out there and see what the industry has to offer so they can get a feel for what they want to do.”

More than a dozen employers have committed to the Sept. 10 AE Career Fair, which will run 8 a.m. – noon at the GT Alumni House, 190 North Ave. The event is free, and no reservations are required, but attendees should plan to dress in “business formal” attire and to bring at least 12-15 resumes.

Last year, more than 200 students attended the event, which attracted some of the biggest employers in the field. Lundrigan is still receiving requests from interested employers, but the current list is fairly impressive:

• Aerospace Systems
• Borg Warner
• Delta
• Gulfstream
• Pratt & Whitney
• Safran
• Siemans
• Sikorsky
• United Technologies,
• GTRI
• GE Aviation
• Honeywell Aerospace

Lundrigan, 25, helped launch the first AE Career Fair in 2011, as a part of her work with Sigma Gamma Tau, the AE honor society. Despite her grueling schedule as a doctoral student, she has continued to spearhead the effort because she believes deeply in the value of real-world experience.

The Ohio native originally came to Georgia Tech to study biomedical engineering. Experience pushed her in a different direction. Twice.

“I was interested in studying prosthetics, but, after a year, I saw that the program was more focused on the bio part than on the mechanics, which is what interested me, so I switched to mechanical engineering,” she said.

“Then, after doing a co-op with Rolls Royce, I realized that all of the work I really wanted to do was in aerospace and the classes were exactly what I wanted. I did three co-ops with Rolls Royce - in research, assembly instrument testing, and fluid systems.”

Lundrigan says her decision to transfer into aerospace was greeted with some surprise by administrators.

“They don’t usually have students opting into aerospace during junior year,” she said with a smile. “That’s usually when people drop.”

Undergraduate and graduate students who cannot attend this event but who want to be considered for job, co-op, or internship openings in one of the participating companies are encouraged to send PDFs of their resumes to Sigma Gamma Tau, which will distribute them accordingly. To ensure that resumes are directed to the right source, the PDF files should be named using the following convention: last name_degree_position requested (full/part-time job, internship, or co-op).  

For example: "Jones_MSAE_co-op"