2015 Young Professionals Survey Report Out Survey Team: Kim Hicks, Ryan Rudy, Justin Kugler, Shawn Allgeier, Brian Pomeroy

Background and Objectives Background : The Young Professional Committee conducted a survey among AIAA’s Young Professional members to identify any key programming that could be offered to improve member services. Objectives : The objectives of the survey included, but were not limited to:  Develop a demographic profile of Graduate Students and Young Professional members  Determine the key benefits of membership for Graduate Students and Young Professional members  Measure interest and engagement in key AIAA activities designed for younger members  Understand the efficacy of key communication tools for AIAA and its Young Professional Committee  Determine levels of interest in Graduate Students and Young Professional members in mentoring programs 2

Respondent Profile 3

Roughly 50/50 split between students and YPs  Obtained many undergraduate student data due to errors in the survey filters 80/20 Male/Female split Majority of Student members < 25 yrs old Majority of YPs > 30 yrs old For both YPs and students, majority < 5 yrs membership Top 3 Work Classifications for YPs: Industry, Govt, Academia Roughly even split between AIAA regions  R VI slightly more, R IV and R V slightly lower 4

Member Benefits 5

Member benefits (YPs and student responses) Most votes as Extremely Important:  Networking  Print and online technical publications  AIAA Daily Launch Fewest votes as Extremely Important:  Continuing education courses  Local section programs  Aerospace America  Public policy participation 6

Member benefits summary Networking and industry news were the most valuable perceived benefit derived from AIAA membership Daily launch was often cited as valuable source of news Conferences were frequently described as too expensive, as were conference proceedings  Some YPs would attend more conferences or forums but cannot due to costs not covered by their employer, or lack of support from their management (specifically middle management) AIAA’s offerings are too expensive for the perceived value of membership 7

Member Engagement 8

Student & YP Engagement At a Glance YPs are more likely than students to participate on technical and program committees, support publications and journals, and attend conferences, when asked  More than 90% of both students and YPs have not been involved with committees or policy advocacy at all 9 Most believe there are sufficient opportunities to participate when asked and when aware

Trends in Engagement YPs aren’t being reached by the local sections  Only one-third of YPs report being welcomed by their local section, as opposed to nearly half of students  Most are not aware of local programs for YPs (42%) and those that are only rate them at a moderate value Less than one-quarter of all young members have attended the Forums  Only one-quarter of young Forum participants attended RLA events, favoring networking opportunities (62% or better) over speakers (no greater than 30%) 10

Themes for YP Engagement Several themes emerged from the commentary:  Some YPs choose other engineering organizations that provide more consistent access to networking events  Programming should be interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and relevant to YP interests in personal & professional development  Conferences (including travel costs) are often prohibitively expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to justify to employers, despite being the best growth opportunities  Local events are often seen as geared towards K-12 and college students or more senior professionals Key Takeaways: YPs want to build communities they can trust and give direct input to the direction of our industry in a time of deep uncertainty regarding the future of aerospace 11

Member Communications 12

Usefulness of Communication Tools 13 Q: Please rate the usefulness of the communication mechanisms below using the following scale: (% answering Very/Somewhat Useful) Direct s from AIAA on specific events are the most useful communication tool for everyone

YP Newsletter Over half of YPs read the YP Newsletter  Graduate students have only JUST begun to receive the YP newsletter and s from the YPC  Of those who read the newsletter most are interested in the sections on career development, events and “in the news”. 14 If you read the YP Newsletter, please rate your interest in the Newsletter sections using the following scale: (%Very/Somewhat Interested) Young Professional Career Development 91% Events 91% In the News 89% Media 75% Introductory Note 69% YP Corner 75% Young Professional Member Profile 62%

YP Committee A Super majority of YPs and Students say that it appears that AIAA is concerned with young professionals needs. However, less than half think the YPC is effective in communicating benefits and services available to young professionals 15 Q: Do you think the Young Professional Committee (YPC) is effective in communicating the benefits and services available to Young Professionals? Q: Does it appear that AIAA is concerned with Young Professionals’ needs?

Career Development and Mentoring 16

Support Of AIAA Activities 17 Most student’s supervisors are members of AIAA (50%) Most YP’s supervisors are not members of AIAA (43%) Q: Does your immediate supervisor/department head support your AIAA membership/activities? What types of support does your organization provide for your AIAA activities? StudentYoung Professional None 42%*34% Paid travel expenses 37%43% Paid Forum registration fees 29%38%* Paid time at conference (didn’t have to use vacation/sick time) 24%44%* Paid time to write papers for presentation at an AIAA Forum 21%29%* Allowed you to use vacation/sick/flex time to attend conference 10%20%* Paid time to attend AIAA Section or Region events 10%7%

Mentoring Programs 18 There is much interest among YP’s (75%) and Grad Students (83%) to participate in an AIAA Mentoring Program Most would like to pair with a mentor in their local section Students prefer YPs as mentors (25-35 years old) Preference to SME’s, Mid/Entry-career, Professors, department heads YP’s prefer mid to late career mentors Preference to SME’s, Senior Managers, Mid-career peers, and Executives

What YPs and Grad Students Want Out of Mentoring Programs Networking and greater industry connections Career Opportunities  Career advancement and mapping Career Guidance  Work/Life Balance guidance  Career Advice  Woman’s perspective/experience in aerospace Professional Advocacy Visibility with Industry Leaders Leadership Development 19

Summary and Key Recommendations 20

Summary and Key Recommendations Most important member benefits: Networking, technical publications, AIAA Daily Launch AIAA’s offerings are perceived as too expensive for the perceived value  Especially with difficulties in getting middle management support for funds, time off, and travel. Sufficient opportunities for YPs to participate within AIAA when aware and when asked YPs aren’t being reached by local sections or by Forums 21

Summary and Key Recommendations (Cont) Direct, personalized s are best communications method AIAA is perceived as concerned with YP needs; the YPC has work to do to effectively communicate AIAA benefits and opportunities MUCH interest in an AIAA mentoring program  Preference for local mentors 22

BACK-UP 23

Changes in the Young Professionals Committee Current Committee Membership = 27  Increase of 9 since last report  Currently working on restructuring YPC to align with results of YP Survey  Currently developing AIAA YP strategy Chair: Kim Hicks Deputy Chair: Tim Hinerman Acting Deputy Chair: Justin Kugler BoD Liaison: Ryan Rudy Has established presence on social media through Facebook  422 Members (and growing) - Up 31 members from last report!  Plan to establish presence on Twitter next YPC BoD Liaison: Ryan Rudy Acting Deputy Chair: Justin Kugler YPC Deputy Chair: Tim Hinerman YPC Chair: Kim Hicks

Current YPC Liaison Positions Corporate Member: Tim Hinerman Public Policy: Justin Kugler Technical Activities: Greg Johnston YP Committee Vacancies to be filled: Will establish a new Liaison Position with the Career & Professional Development Committee Looking for a new Liaison for this committee Looking for a new Communications Subcommittee Chair Looking for new Programs and Events Subcommittee Chair

Benefits: How much are benefits worth to our members? 26 Service Avg ($)YPstudents Conference registration (full 3 day attendance, including breakfast, lunch, receptions) Participation in Rising Leaders in Aerospace events Virtual webinar event Annual subscription to AIAA's Aerospace America magazine Annual subscription to AIAA Daily Launch Electronic access to proceedings from a single AIAA Conference Electronic copy of a single AIAA technical paper 888 Annual subscription to an AIAA journal Participation in an AIAA Mentorship program Access to AIAA Career Center resources, including job postings and career development resources Full day in-person continuing education course Full day online continuing education course

Most valuable benefits (professionals) 27 Networking and News are the most often cited benefits for AIAA young professionals