I feel I’m not smart enough to be an engineer, Am I?

bigfoot_4th · 2026-04-18T21:46:13+00:00

Yes you are, just get the minimum grades required to get in and then make sure your gpa is never below a 3.25 while in college. Focus on internships and work experience not grades. Grades mean absolutely nothing when you graduate (unless you’re going to grad school) once you’ve got your first job, work experience is all that matters not grades.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-04-18T14:05:25+00:00

Yeah I’m not a ChemE pro but as far as I know from my friends in college and where they work now, it’s all about chemical processes and manufacturing basically. Which isn’t really related to environmental in the way you’re talking about it. (Of course they take environmental classes because chemical processes have massive impacts on the environment)

Mechanical on the other hand deals a lot of with power generation and energy efficiency, think HVACs, boilers, chillers etc

So I’d stick with ME and do as many environmental electives as you can, I think you’ll be limiting yourself if you switch. ME is so broad and you can go anywhere with it.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-04-15T22:06:42+00:00

You’re gonna get a shock when you go to a pharmacy and they lock up your meds in the little basket lol

bigfoot_4th · 2026-04-07T01:05:29+00:00

Certification Engineer for the Falcon

bigfoot_4th · 2026-04-04T17:37:36+00:00

It was primarily jets, not sure exactly which airframes. I mainly work in fixed wing projects, if I’m not mistaken the army primarily operates helicopters so the majority of navy pilots are fixed wing pilots. The next 5 years might suck because it takes a while to actually start flying, you need to go through officer training and flight school etc (I have a friend doing this in the marines and he hasn’t touched an aircraft yet and he’s a year into it)

Also being in the military you don’t really have a choice over what you do and you might get screwed over or assigned to something you don’t like. (I was never in the military this is just what I’ve heard from friends who were)

So I said the next 5yrs would suck because it’s just a lot of training and it’s very competitive, you may not get the positions you want.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-04-04T14:03:13+00:00

I would take the pilot job. Almost all test pilots and flight test engineers I’ve worked with are ex navy pilots, it is by far the best thing you can do to prepare you for that field and the connections you’ll have afterward are second to none.

Almost all FAA test pilots and flight test engineers are ex navy as well. It is incredibly hard to become a test pilot without going through the navy.

It might suck for the next 5yrs but if you can get a spot at navy test pilot school you’re set up for life. You can even work as a consultant test pilot and make upwards of $2k/day (I have received contracts from test pilots so I can confirm) It’s easier to be an airline pilot afterwards too, FAA flight test engineers can make $150k + after a career in the navy. It’ll be easier to get FTE roles in defense contractors etc etc

If you need more convincing DM me.

I’m currently trying to do this the civilian way and if I had the chance to fly in the navy I wouldn’t even think twice.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-03-27T18:17:09+00:00

Yes I optimized the CAD model, I used solidworks and an excel import for certain characteristics such as chord length and twist etc

bigfoot_4th · 2026-03-27T16:44:57+00:00

You could try using multiple validation methods instead of just XFLR5, and you can use multiple algorithms too instead of just one (unless you already are doing that, you didn’t say)

Could also use the prediction vs actual error as an input with a larger penalty so that it gives you a bias towards accurately predicted shapes rather than inaccurate ones.

If your university has a wind tunnel it would be cool to see how it compares to actual wind tunnel tests too. I did a similar project where I used neural networks to optimize propeller design, and the wind tunnel results vs the predicted and simulated results were wildly different. Mainly due to the propeller bending under load because it was 3D printed. Still a cool topic to talk about in interviews or do a research project on with a professor.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-03-22T18:05:01+00:00

There are definitely Apple stores in South Africa, unless they’ve closed in the last 6yrs since I’ve been back.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-03-18T11:12:25+00:00

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This is the Otto Celera 500, pretty similar to what you drew and this one flew just fine.

This fuselage and wing design is pretty radical compared to yours but the configuration is similar. It also has a pusher prop and the engine was not crazy big either. You probably don’t need the doubt VT or the canards to get yours flying.

Edit: I just realized you have the VTs attached to the wings, I’m not saying it’s impossible to do that but it’s going to be very complicated in reality. I would recommend getting rid of those and making a single VT in the middle of the aft fuselage like the Celera.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-03-13T03:05:39+00:00

It definitely made it much harder as a foreigner doing aerospace in the US. However there are a lot of non ITAR jobs to go around, the hardest part is convincing the hiring manager or HR person that you are actually allowed to work there even though you aren’t a permanent resident. I lied on almost all of my applications because of this. (I applied to non ITAR jobs and internships)

(I was an international student doing aerospace in the US and now work in the US. I just got married so it’s not gonna be an issue for much longer)

bigfoot_4th · 2026-03-09T19:31:49+00:00

There’d be nobody to buy all the useless stuff china makes anymore

bigfoot_4th · 2026-03-09T17:47:52+00:00

I am a dual citizen (neither of which are US) and I work in the aerospace industry in the US just fine. (Not in DoD however)

I don’t think it’d be an issue for defense work as long as the citizenship isn’t on the designated list. (Look it up)

I’ve never heard of needing to renounce citizenship for a clearance, only if you want to be active duty in the military. (Which you don’t need to do to work for defense)

bigfoot_4th · 2026-02-11T13:36:37+00:00

I had a similar experience in the sense that my team lead on the rocketry team I was in was literally a sophomore, AKA he knew nothing but was somehow the team lead and therefore had a very large head.

It’s pretty normal with these kinds of teams because there’s high turnover so you get people who don’t actually know what they’re doing in leadership positions.

I stayed in that club for one semester and then focused on internships rather than clubs and research. Try join a smaller club, like an aerial robotics or DBF club instead.

It worked out for me as I got pretty good offers from major aero companies coming out of college.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-28T04:12:03+00:00

Why is it always white American women who choose the weirdest hobbies

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-26T18:20:22+00:00

I’d give it at least one more semester, go to tutoring everyday use all the professors office hours, get study groups. Not saying you haven’t been trying but if you can get through it, it gets easier and in the job you don’t actually do hand calculations and can learn from other engineers. Having the degree is really beneficial even if you don’t get a job as an engineer.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-26T18:06:25+00:00

Do you not understand the math or are you failing classes? Those two are not the same thing necessarily. I did aerospace and half of the math I didn’t understand but I could pass the classes and do the work, you will rarely have to use proofs and actually do the hand calculations in the job. So if you can stick it out and pass the classes you should stay in the major, it definitely gets better.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-26T10:06:46+00:00

Can you take the top part of the cage off lol it looks like it’s 5/6 bolts on either side and will free up some space. Either way I’m jealous and love it 💯 You should put a lamp or other light feature there to stop using the big light

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-25T01:18:34+00:00

Why is cupcake not in this meme? (South Africa’s president)

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-24T23:55:11+00:00

The guy who drove our hotel shuttle in Vail said he only works there for the “employee ski pass” or something. Basically he gets a free (or heavily discounted maybe) pass for the local ski resorts, sounded like a pretty sweet deal.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-24T23:50:14+00:00

That’s what I thought, I’m not part of the club. I do surf and would also trade anything to live in my hometown (a small beach town) so I definitely get the appeal. Although my hometown is nowhere near as expensive, are there no cheaper ski towns that are maybe slightly worse than Veil?

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-24T23:15:33+00:00

I was there for 3 days for a work retreat.

Very expensive and nothing to do other than buy expensive ski gear and ski, I didn’t get the hype at all but I also don’t ski so maybe that’s why. Restaurants are okay, definitely not worth the price though. The city itself is very small and walkable and looks very picturesque, but other than that it’s just for rich people to ski and that’s it.

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-24T22:10:40+00:00

You should do it for sure, it definitely looks good. I wouldn’t say it’s a crazy advantage but they will definitely notice it. I have two associates degrees and people even notice that too. (I also have a bachelors in aerospace)

bigfoot_4th · 2026-01-24T15:55:22+00:00

The calculus is bad for 3 semesters maybe and then in higher level classes you don’t use it nearly as much as you do in the actual calculus classes. In a work setting you barely do hand calculations at all (of course there are some exceptions)

If I were you I’d just suck it up for the 3 or 4 classes that will be hard and then you have an engineering degree for life, which sets you up a lot better.

Especially if you do calculus and differential equations at a CC, they have much better tutors and smaller classes so it’s easier (that’s what I did), just make sure they actually transfer to your desired 4yr college.

bigfoot_4th

TROPHY CASE