Aerospace Engineering?

Question

any aerospace engineer or anyone in the aerospace industry am interested in aerospace and am in ma second year at university anyone brief me up howz its like in the aerospace industry/

Answer 1

I think you have to consider being an aerospace engineer is a little like being a rock star or exalted painter: It's good to have a fall-back position. Since the aerospace industry (both with planes and rockets) is so cyclic with the government mostly driving it, your job could exist one day and not the next. Therefore, the best advice I received was "if you want to work with rockets or in any high-tech high-risk industry, get a degree in mechanical, electrical, or civil engineering". That way, when there are lean times (and there will be), you can find a job in the automotive, construction, petroleum, manufacturing, etc. fields. You will be a generic engineer and not a specialized one.

I have yet to find a company that refused to hire me to work on rockets because I am a mechanical engineer. Besides, as a ME, I have been trained in the design of moving parts, in thermal power, and in fluids, which is basically all a rocket is. Aerospace engineers "generally" focus on the structure and outside effects caused by moving through an atmosphere. It's your call, but I recommend getting a general engineering degree for your Bachelors, and then a specialized degree (i.e. aerospace, nuclear, biomedical) for your Masters or PhD. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

I am now a high school science teacher. What I could not stand about aerospace is that as soon as the project is done so is your job. Expect to be laid off every three years. All that stuff they say about networking, DO IT! It is your only hope not to be out of a job for half a year or more!