- #1
bchandler
- 16
- 0
I am just entering as a junior in my undergrad program, and have one semester left of classes which can apply to either degree. So soon I will have to make a concrete choice regarding which degree I am going for.
Hopefully some ME's or ASE's out there can give me some advice.
Personally, when looking over the curriculum of each degree, the aerospace course line looks much more interesting to me personally. Classes such as "Fundamentals of Aero Flight," "Flight Structures," and "High Speed Aerodynamics" sound so much better to me than classes such as "Vibrations" and "Kinematics of Mechanisms." I see myself hopefully working in a design career, meaning structural, aerodynamic, or mechanical design of aircraft (and hopefully one day spacecraft ).
However, it sounds as if Aerospace is so specialized, that job security may not be as good as a Mechanical degree. I understand a Mechanical major can do anything from production to aerospace. I also understand, however, that once you are employed in a type of career for a while, your degree is much less important than your work experience in so far as what kind of jobs you can find.
My university also has an accelerated graduate degree program which I am considering and need to apply for soon. I may apply 12 graduate courses to my undergrad degree. I may also mix degrees. So for example, I could take my undergrad in Mech. and my masters in Aero. Would this add any job security to my career? Preferentially I would take both in Aero.
Just looking for general opinions, I guess, on what kind of things an aerospace engineer can expect to be employed for versus what a mechanical engineer may be employed for in Aerospace, and the general level of long term job security or Aero compared to a mechanical engineer. Do most companies generally make a clear distinction between Aero and Mech when hiring for a position in aerospace related fields? Or are they considered mostly interchangeable (at the recently graduated level)?
Thanks for any opinions!
Hopefully some ME's or ASE's out there can give me some advice.
Personally, when looking over the curriculum of each degree, the aerospace course line looks much more interesting to me personally. Classes such as "Fundamentals of Aero Flight," "Flight Structures," and "High Speed Aerodynamics" sound so much better to me than classes such as "Vibrations" and "Kinematics of Mechanisms." I see myself hopefully working in a design career, meaning structural, aerodynamic, or mechanical design of aircraft (and hopefully one day spacecraft ).
However, it sounds as if Aerospace is so specialized, that job security may not be as good as a Mechanical degree. I understand a Mechanical major can do anything from production to aerospace. I also understand, however, that once you are employed in a type of career for a while, your degree is much less important than your work experience in so far as what kind of jobs you can find.
My university also has an accelerated graduate degree program which I am considering and need to apply for soon. I may apply 12 graduate courses to my undergrad degree. I may also mix degrees. So for example, I could take my undergrad in Mech. and my masters in Aero. Would this add any job security to my career? Preferentially I would take both in Aero.
Just looking for general opinions, I guess, on what kind of things an aerospace engineer can expect to be employed for versus what a mechanical engineer may be employed for in Aerospace, and the general level of long term job security or Aero compared to a mechanical engineer. Do most companies generally make a clear distinction between Aero and Mech when hiring for a position in aerospace related fields? Or are they considered mostly interchangeable (at the recently graduated level)?
Thanks for any opinions!