The Decaying Workforce

During the cold war, aerospace was a rapidly growing industry. There was alot of innovation and many different companies competing for talent: Douglas, Hughes, Rockwell, TRW, North American, etc. In addition, many of these companies were based in sunny California. It wasn't the worst industry to work for. In fact, as late as 1990 there were 1.1 million people working in aerospace. But then things took a down turn. The tech-boom began. The cold war ended, thus funding for aerospace ended. For the first time in ninety years, the industry was shrinking. Many companies didn't survive, and were gobbled up by the Shitshows - Boeing/LockheedMartin/NorthropGrumman/Raytheon. By 2007, there were only 630,000 aerospace workers.

In their college recruiting efforts, I remember these aerospace companies trying to spin this gloomy history into a message of hope. The message was that the aerospace workforce was graying (getting older) and that there will be alot of opportunity for young engineers who enter this industry in the coming decade. To a naive young kid, it made sense. Of course, now that I have been in this industry for several years, I see what a load of bullshit that really was. While it is true that the aerospace industry needs young engineers, there is absolutely no opportunity for them. Zero.

The engineering workforce many have shrunk, but I'm pretty sure management did not, because there are no opportunities for advancement. There are too many managers as it is. Aerospace was hiring again because of 1) war and the increase in post-9/11 defense spending 2) aerospace conglomerates lobbied the right politicians, and 3) existing managers simply needed to increase their power status by hiring more minions to work under them.

While the aerospace companies claimed they needed young talent, they really needed more subordinates. You see unlike the software or entertainment industry, a talented young aerospace engineer won't get promoted to a position of leadership for several years or even decades, simply because he is too young. It doesn't matter that he may be smarter, more eager, or shows more initiative than all the other Bob's out there. There is a hierarchy based on years of experience because management doesn't recognize talent. They just assume all engineers are the same. And talent that is not utilized goes wasted, so that by the time an engineer is promoted, it is because he has decayed enough to fit the mold of a useless manager. And so the wheel turns.

By warning young engineers that they have no future in aerospace, I throw rocks.