The aerospace industry has experienced eight consecutive years of growth. As of 2013, aerospace is the number one manufactured export in Kentucky. Graduates are competitive in the job market for all areas of the space sector including aerospace engineering, electrical and mechanical engineering, technical jobs in electronics and microelectronics, Earth station operation, and micro-nanotechnology engineering. Scientists and engineers play a vital role in building the 21st-century enterprises that create solutions and jobs critical to solving the large, complex, and interdisciplinary problems faced by society. Many of these complex societal problems are solved by the utilization of space assets. From financial and data transfer to national defense and homeland security to the search and management of natural resources, space plays a vital role. Applied research conducted by graduates often leads to commercializable technologies that allow them to become the entrepreneurs and innovators of the new space age.