What does an aerospace engineer actually do day-to-day?

I’ve been trying to understand different engineering careers lately, and aerospace engineering seems like one of the most interesting—but also a bit unclear in terms of what the actual daily work looks like.

From what I’ve gathered, aerospace engineers don’t just “build airplanes.” They seem to work on a mix of design, testing, simulation, and problem-solving across aircraft, spacecraft, and related systems. Some roles are very hands-on with testing and prototypes, while others are more focused on calculations, modeling, and system design.

For people who know the field—what does a typical day look like in aerospace engineering? Is it mostly office-based design work, or is there a lot of lab/testing and field involvement as well?

Would be great to hear real-world insights from anyone working in aerospace or related engineering fields.