<p>I'm thinking about applying to graduate school and was wondering what employers may think if I decided to get a master's in mechanical eng instead of aerospace? </p>
<p>I know the better route to take is mechanical eng as undergrad and aerospace for graduate school, but it's too late for me. </p>
<p>The main reason for the switch is that having graduated already with an aerospace BS degree, I realize jobs are very limited within this area. I hope that maybe getting a master's in ME can help broaden my options when it comes to applying for jobs. However, I am not sure if I will be at a disadvantage or will struggle through the mechanical engineering classes with an aerospace background?</p>
<p>To answer your first question, there is absolutely no problem with going from an aerospace BS to a mechanical MS. It happens a lot, just like the opposite happens a lot. The two disciplines are essentially the same discipline anyway but with a little bit different emphasis. The science is the same and the skills you can learn are the same, so an employer is not going to care as long as you have the skills they need.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is that a MS degree typically is an opportunity to specialize a bit, so you shouldn’t be thinking about getting an MS to broaden your skill set and be able to cast a wider net on the job search. Instead, you should be using it to become more competent in some focus area that you enjoy and can use to make yourself more competitive for the jobs requiring that skill set. Whether you are best served by a MS in mechanical or aerospace in that regard really has more to do with what your career goals are than which degree is more broad.</p>