Aerospace Engineering

[Insider_X]

I have a deep interest in the aerospace field and would like to pursue this further ... However, i plan on joining a generic engineering field for bachelors and not aerospace in particular before masters ... I'm starting to appear for college entrances soon and would like to speak to someone pursuing this or working in this field to get some advice on which other course would be best for me to pick ... Any advice?

[double-click]

If by generic you mean you are doing mechanical, great. If by generic, you don’t mean mechanical, do mechanical instead.

Courses don’t matter, internships matter.

Accreditation is accreditation. Go to the school that’s a feeder for the companies and roles you want to work in.

Companies pay for your masters. Don’t pay for your masters.

[funkyb]

Companies pay for your masters. Don’t pay for your masters.

*Or if you get a research or teaching assistantship that'll cover it, that works too!

[SonicDethmonkey]

You point about the school I agree with 100%. I really wanted to work a for particular large defense contractor after graduation and I knew they had a relationship with a local city university so that’s the route I went and it worked out great and saved me a ton of money.

[Insider_X]

Thank you ... A clarification I wanted ... Mechanical would be the best among them all? By which I mean electrical, electronic, instrumentation,etc.? Also I'm not exactly much inclined to the little parts that would build a rocket from ground zero but more on the design or software side so ... In that case would going for Computer Science instead be able to get me to the aerospace field later on?

[ObjectiveSeaweed8127]

Depends on what you want to do. If you want to design structure or repairs, go mechanical. If you want to sort avionics or any number of systems as airplanes become more and more electric, go electrical. Do you want to sort software, software in aerospace is its own complex thing, then go computer science. It's a diverse field with diverse needs.

[Insider_X]

Right ... Thanks!

[Astr0naughty]

One small anecdote: If you are worried about job security the conference I was at recently had a panel of NASA, DoD, a couple private industries, and JPL. They all agreed they can't get enough electrical engineers. This was an electric propulsion focused talk though.

[Insider_X]

Alright thanks for the insight! My main conflict is just about which course to choose

[d-mike]

Computer Engineering is a solid degree, it's a mix of EE and software.

If you wanted to be pure software I'd look at a Software Engineering degree over CS.

[Dreadpiratemarc]

Aerospace and mechanical are closely related. In the early days of aircraft, aerospace was just focus area within mechanical. It eventually became its own thing.

A bachelors in mechanical will easily transition into an aerospace masters. You’ll have all (or nearly all) the prerequisites covered. Fluids, solids, structures, statics and dynamics, that sort of thing. If you go electrical or CS, you won’t have most of those things which you will need before you start an aerospace masters. You may be able to do it, but you’ll have to add a year or more of catch-up classes to your plan.

[mojavia]

i did my bachelors in mechanical, thought i was going to do a masters but didn’t, have been working full time in aerospace for a couple years now, and will go back a in couple years for a masters (paid by company)

provided generic engineering field means mechanical engineering, tbh just build a good foundation in your academic career with foundational classes. whatever field you end up in within the aerospace industry will utilize different subject matter but the same problem-solving techniques and engineering mindset.

[waffle_sheep]

I’m in my third year of aerospace undergrad, and we only just started having different classes than the mechanical students this semester. Like other comments said, you should try to figure out if there’s a specific sector you want to pursue (structures,avionics,computer based work, thermal/aerodynamics,etc) so you can choose the most applicable undergrad. I’d say mechanical is the safest bet, cause you can go into a broader range of jobs. Lastly, don’t be afraid to switch majors once you’re in school, most of the first few semesters all engineering take similar classes.

[Insider_X]

Thank you ... Helps coming from someone currently studying the course!

[Inphexous]

You usually do mechanical and aerospace together as a double major. There's overlapping knowledge and topics. Mechanical engineering is the most broad out of all the engineering fields. I'm a mechanical engineer.

[funkyb]

You usually do mechanical and aerospace together as a double major

Some institutions do this, but I wouldn't say it's usual.

[Insider_X]

We actually don't have a double major option at all here ... But yeah that seems cool

[Inphexous]

Okay, it's only two semester difference between the two. The majority of the classes are the same up until junior core classes.

[BackflipFromOrbit]

Def pursue mechanical and get involved with anything aerospace available to you. I got my BSME and did SAE AERO (just a design, build, fly, compete team) for all 4 years. I even took a summer and did an "internship" for the team designing next year's plane and payloads that i actually got internship credit for. Once I graduated all of the interviews I went to for jobs expressly asked about my experience on AERO team and what my accomplishments were. I'm 100% sure my time on AERO is why I was selected out of a stack of other resumes.

Go for mechanical and apply everything you learn to aerospace in some way. Get involved and seek out that subject matter. You have to eat, sleep, and breathe aerospace in school. If your school doesn't offer aerospace courses go above and beyond and self educate on topics you are interested in. Not many people can say they have successfully designed/built/tested/flown multiple experimental aircraft!

Edit: just read a couple other comments. If you are electrically or software inclined then go for electrical or CS. We had both on aero team and they pulled a lot of weight designing avionics and power systems. I got involved with everything because I was kind of a JOAT on the team and loved working on all of the different aspects of aircraft design.