High-tech firms and tech giants compete with aerospace for top graduates

For Hassan Butt, a 17-year-old British student volunteering at the Farnborough airshow, there ​was nothing cooler than watching the planes and thinking about the physics that kept them airborne.

“Everyone when they’re kids, they ‌look up, they see the planes flying and they think, damn…” he said as he fielded questions from passersby at a stand. His dream was to pursue a career in aerospace and engineering with a focus on missiles....