<p>Can anybody compare aeronautical and mechanical engineering indepth?
thanks</p>
<p>Well, not really in-depth, but aeronautical engineering is more specific to aerodynamics, planes, spacecraft, etc. while mechanical engineering is jack-of-all-trades.</p>
<p>Mechanical engineering will provide more broad-based employment in a variety of industries, while aeronautical engineering will be more limiting.</p>
<p>For undergrad, I'd suggest a BSME degree. Aero is too specialized for undergrad. An ME degree will give you many more options at the undergrad level, and you can always take a few Aero classes as electives. If you decide at that point you want to pursue an Aero degree, you can certainly do that in grad school and the ME degree will not have limited you in any way.</p>
<p>Aeronautical has a very narrow focus (on planes and spacecraft). </p>
<p>If this is something you're interested in, it doesn't hurt to wait until grad school. However, it also doesn't hurt to to jump in as an undergrad (it's just that fewer colleges offer it). </p>
<p>My friend is deadset on working for NASA, and he's majoring in aero. A good thing about the field is that there are always tons of internships and opportunities available, even to first and second year students. He's looking at going to Embry-Riddle, Purdue, Georgia Tech, RPI, UT Austin, or Colorado Boulder. MIT and Cornell are his dream reaches. </p>
<p>If you want more info, I'll see what I can find out for you.</p>
<p>What's BSME and ME? If I decide to do BSME or ME as an undergrad, can I still chose between Aero and mech when I go to grad school?</p>
<p>BSME and ME are referring to the same thing - mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>And yes, if you majored in mechincal you could still choose aero in grad school.</p>
<p>If you want to do mechanical engineering in undergrad and aerospace in graduate, I'd recommend trying to do research with a professor that does some sort of aeronautical work while you're an undergrad (or an internship in the same vein).</p>
<p>@ squelchy451</p>
<p>I would definitely consider Univ of Michigan and Case Western Reserve Univ. Both have top-notch aeronautical and mechanical engineering programs.</p>
<p>University of Notre Dame has aero/mech eng program. And, super relationships with top companies like Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, etc.</p>
<p>Aero and Mechanical are closely aligned and are often in the same department. At the undergrad level, there are only a few classes that will be different....and those classes can be taken as electives. With an ME degree, your job opportunities will be significantly improved should you decide to immediately enter the work force. If you decide to go to grad school in aero, there are no negatives with having a BSME (with aero electives)....and it is really at the grad level where the differences between Aero and Mechanical become important.</p>