Getting into aerospace engineering

[c_programmer]

I'm currently a computer engineering student with about 10 years of programming experience, ~6 professional. Whatever field I end up in I'll be doing programming in it. I have more than a passing interest in rockets, they have always fascinated me. Within the field I am most interested aeronautics control systems and orbital mechanics. I've been studying orbital mechanics in my free time and been having a lot of fun learning that and vector calculus. My concern is that if I actually start applying what I know I may get bored with it; it wouldn't be the first time its happened to me with an engineering field. Programming is a very accessible field, anyone can just get a compiler and do it. Aerospace engineering isn't the same, living in a densely packed suburb of Chicago I can't exactly launch stuff in my back yard. All the rocket fields for safety reasons only let you assemble model rockets and launch them, you can't do anything fun with them because its a hobby to them (and I guess its dangerous).

My question is are there any ways I can dip my toes into this to see if I like it? I don't want to peruse a masters then realize it was a mistake. I applied for an intern position with SpaceX for an aeronautical control software development position but I haven't heard back from them, I knew my chances were near none when applying. That was really the only thing I saw that would accomplish this.

 

[R.Mesri]

There are a few ways you could approach this. One would be to look into research projects at your university that focus on aerospace engineering, or look into internships with local companies that work in the field. You could also join a student organization related to aerospace engineering, such as the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics or the National Society for Black Engineers. This could give you an opportunity to work on projects with other students and get some hands-on experience with aerospace engineering. Additionally, there are many online courses and tutorials available, which could be useful in getting familiar with the concepts and technologies involved in the field. Finally, you could reach out to professionals in the field and ask for advice and mentorship.