mechanical or aerospace engineering?

Question

Mechanical or aerospace engineering?
hi to everybody, this is my question:

I like aerospace engineering much more than mechanical engineering (but still I like it too), but perhaps aerospace is a very narrow field in which I won't be able to find many job opportunities or as much as if I were to study mechanical engineering. besides I think (eventhough I'm not completely sure) one can pursue a mechanical engineering degree which focuses/relates to the aerospace industry.

I will welcome any comments you may have and thank you very much

Answer 1

I have a degree in both mechanical and aerospace and I noticed when I was graduating, there were a lot of people who only had an aero degree and were having trouble getting jobs. Honestly, they are almost the same major, just aero is more focused. If you can get both, do so. But if you have to choose one or the other, get mechanical. You can always work for an aero company with a mech degree.

Actually, I have a few friends that work for aero companies with just a mech degree. It may not work out the other way around. When HR people at companies look at resumes, at a first glance they look at degree names. So if they're looking for a mech eng., and they see aero eng. on the resume, they could both be equally qualified, but the mech eng. will probably get the job.

For your mech degree, you should have technical electives, and if you want you can choose aero related courses. That could help out.

Honestly, engineering degrees are meant to give you the fundamentals of most jobs (for your field). The main objective is that it teaches you how to think analytically. Your employer will train you to do whatever they need you to do.

Answer 2

Do yourself a favor and look directly at job openings at aerospace companies and you'll see that typically mechanical engineering jobs outnumber aerospace engineering jobs by about five to one. The degrees are not as similar as people like to make them out. AE undergrads then to have stronger fluids and control backgrounds but if a company wants a control engineer they'll typically hire an electrical engineer. So AE has one thing going for it but a ME undergrad tend to have a stronger solid mechanics, heat transfer, and manufacturing skills. My best advise is to find a school with a joint ME/AE program and get a ME degree while specializing in AE related fields when you pick your electives.

Answer 3

Aerospace is NOT a narrow field in the United States. If you don't mind making machines that kill people (such as missiles and fighter jets), you could work for a defense company such as Raytheon or Northrop Grumman. From what I hear, they are not picky about who they hire. Not that I'm implying you would be a poor employee, just that anyone with a degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering could find a job in the defense industry.

Answer 4

mechanical engineers build weapons
civil engineers build targets
better to build the bomb than getting bombed