Aerospace is a critical industry and all the equipment that is used by it is very complex in structure. The aerospace, defense and satellite production companies have to use the services of the product lifecycle management unit. The IT industry has created solutions to overcome this process, and it helps these industries to manage highly complex equipments that have to go through frequent data records and configurations.

Departments that are encumbered by the aerospace industry are turbine airflow, fans, compressors, engines and so on. Each one is a different department using various complex products. Whenever a new product is being introduced under any of these categories, it has to go through a lot of vigorous testing procedures and changes in the equipment design.

To manage and incorporate these changes, the aerospace industry is dependent on the information technology industry to provide solutions. Each company follows a different structure to overcome this process, and some depend on wide networks which have expertise located in different locations and working on the changes and testing and some companies follow onboard testing programs.

The job in this category would require maintaining information about the product and its life cycle, researching the problems it could encounter, and also trying to make changes with the existing equipment.

Education

The person who is seeking a job as a PLM (Product lifecycle management) expert in the avionics and the aerospace industry should be technically qualified by choosing a professional engineering course in graduation or a science course. Other than that, they should be formally trained in managing PLM software. Many people receive on the job training for PLM software.

The education that a person receives has nothing to do with the job in the end, but however, if there are problems that are applicable to the industry, then the person using the knowledge received through the professional courses can sort them out more easily. For example, a math expert can solve problems related to calculations more easily than a computer software expert. Similarly, industry specific knowledge and professional study knowledge is required to perform well in this job.

The person applying for this job should also be good in handling the PLM software and should learn it thoroughly. Several companies have designed efficient PLM software, but the person applying for this job should have the knowledge of the program architecture as well. He or she should have done courses like Microsoft Solutions Developer or studied Windows Architecture through Microsoft to understand the deeper functioning of the PLM software.

Education required is

Bachelor of engineering or bachelor of science
Specialization in mechanical or electrical
PLM software knowledge

Skills

The person executing this role in an aerospace company is expected to provide visibility of the product to the engineers working on it. The general rule is that if there is a problem, there is a solution, and these solutions can be arrived at easily by studying the root cause of the problem. So by studying any product one is likely to know the problems that can be encountered while using the product.

The avionics industry uses complicated products and they need effective PLM software to manage their products. Also, an experienced PLM team would give a complete report of product functionality. The person in the PLM team should be able to reduce costs for the company by providing valuable information through research, and should be able to give better product quality.

A PLM manager can expect to earn about $85000 per year as salary. A PLM programmer can work in the specific industry they are interested in because the PLM software has a wide application and this is a cross platform job.

Expected Salary

Beginners: $4000 to $4500
Mid Level: $5000 to $5500
Experts: $6500 to $8300