Best jobs for the long run

Jobs: Aerospace, electrical or information technology engineer; managers in business development, products, finance, procurement or manufacturing

Those who graduated college with engineering degrees are in demand at aerospace firms, especially high achievers who want to apply their expertise to serve in the areas of the business dealing with business development, finance and product.

The big players in the field, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, run one- to two-year cross-training programs that give their strongest engineers a chance to work in other areas of the company for a few months at a time to figure out where they have the greatest interest and talent, said John Bezner, manager of Search Works Group in Texas, a member office of MRINetwork.

These programs are part of the way companies are developing their future leaders, Bezner noted.

Big companies tend to pay more for people who become specialized in a particular area -- e.g., hydraulics or how air flows across wings on a plane. At smaller aerospace companies, you're likely to have broader responsibilities.

The future for aerospace is bright in Bezner's opinion. Besides the quest to conquer space, there are likely to be more clients lining up as countries like China become more developed nations that want more advanced aerospace projects. "The world is opening up," Bezner said.

Pay: To start, roughly $50,000 at large companies, more if you specialize; by the time you become a program manager, $100,000-plus.