Aerospace/Astronautical Engineering?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hey everyone! I'm wondering if this is a good field to get into.</p>

<p>I'm applying ED to Cal Poly SLO for architecture, but I'm applying to UCs and a CSU or two in case I don't get accepted.</p>

<p>I have tons of interest in space and would love to get into astronautical engineering. Working on space stuff of any sort would be really cool.</p>

<p>To my understanding, pay is higher and job availability is lower, because it's a more specialized field. I'm not as concerned with pay as I am making sure I can get a job. It's not projected to grow as fast as other engineering fields, but will I have problems finding work? Am I realistically going to be able to work on spacecraft?</p>

<p>Also, a slightly more general question - would it be to my advantage to go to a well ranked CSU where I can get better grades, more internships, and pay less tuition, or a mid-tier UC, which is more prestigious, but more challenging to succeed in and more expensive?</p>

<p>For example, let me compare San Jose State and UC Davis. Obviously UCD is ranked higher than SJSU in nearly every way, but SJSU costs about $10k less per year and is right in the middle of Silicon Valley, which is great for internships and obviously employment. UCD is in the middle of cow town. At SJSU I could get better grades due to it being a less competitive school, and much more easily minor in different fields such as Astronomy, Meteorology, Computer Science, Engineering Management, or Materials Science & Engineering. </p>

<p>But then again, UCD and UCI are both ranked much higher. SJSU isn't even in the top 50 out of the list I saw.</p>

<p>Thank you, I appreciate the help!</p>

2

<p>You won’t have problems finding work if you develop valuable skills and do well in school. I am an aerospace engineer and have had many opportunities thus far and have job offers already, as I am a senior. For the spacecraft aspect, many aero companies build satellites of some sort and of course you can look into SpaceX for an all around space focused company. </p>

<p>I would recommend the CSU probably. The internships matter a lot, and not as much the name. When I was working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, I met many interns that were from schools I have never heard of. This means they had skills applicable for the position, and the school’s name doesn’t matter so much. It can help, of course, but it isn’t that big of a deal.</p>

<p>Message me if you have more questions.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the response! I get what you’re saying. I’ll definitely apply for Aerospace Engineering to at least one or two schools then.</p>

<p>Also, any thoughts on which minor I should pick? I narrowed it down to these:</p>

<p>Computer Science (20-22 units)
Engineering Management (only 9 units total)
Meteorology
Astronomy</p>

<p>I can see each of these being useful in their own way. I think Astronomy would be the most interesting and useful in terms of spacecraft design, but computer science may allow me to bring more skills to the table and possibly widen job potential?</p>

4

<p>Minors don’t matter. If there is a specific class that interests you or will increase your job prospects then take that class and don’t worry about the minor.</p>