<p>Hi, I'm hoping to attend Georgia Tech next year for either an aerospace or mechanical engineer but I'm not sure which to pick. I know that I'll do well as an engineering student and I really want to work for companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, SpaceX...specifically in their research and development areas for missiles and jets/satellites and spacecraft.
I'm not sure which to go for, a purely aerospace engineering degree or possibly a mechanical engineering degree with some aerospace classes thrown in there/a minor in aerospace engineering. I've heard that it's always safer to go with mechanical engineering because you have a lot more backup options if something happens but at the same time I've heard that if you know you're going to do well and ultimately come out with a good GPA then to go with aerospace engineering. Does anyone have any advice? Is purely an aerospace engineering degree a good idea? Thanks!</p>
<p>Aerospace engineering still has backup options, just not as many as mechanical engineering. If you have your heart set on aerospace engineering then it really doesn’t matter all that much since your ultimate goal is to end up at the same company anyway. At that point, you just want to do the degree that they hire for the given jobs you want to have, which in many cases is either degree. If you have any doubts or just can’t shake the worry of the cyclical nature of the aerospace industry, go with mechanical. Otherwise, look at the curricula and see which lies closer to your interests.</p>
<p>The aerospace industry isn’t looking too good right now with layoffs in Lockheed, Boeing,etc. Also, defense budgets are planned to be cut to pre WW2 levels so Lockheed, Raytheon, and other defense will take a hit. Aerospace engineering degree is a respectable degree but a mechanical engineering degree will give you more options such as working in the car industry as backup.</p>
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<p>This is true, but this is always true in te aerospace industry. It is very cyclical with many rounds of layoffs and then massive hiring. That’s the risk you take getting into the industry, but it’s long term health is basically guaranteed.</p>
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<p>This is not even remotely true. The number of troops is being scaled back to those levels, which is actually only like a 5% cut in personnel, not even remotely unreasonable given we are ending a war. The budgets are still gigantic, and they still include the F-35, which sure helps Lockheed out.</p>
<p>Also note, some aerospace companies, like Boeing, are doing just fine tiding the profits from commercial airlines during the budget squeeze.</p>
<p>Also, for the record, car companies hire aerospace engineers. It’s not as common as mechanical engineers, but it does happen frequently. Aerospace engineering is a lot more versatile than most people realize, though still certainly not as versatile as mechanical engineering.</p>
<p>@boneh3ad “Aerospace engineering still has backup options, just not as many as mechanical engineering.”
Can you tell me what can an I do with an aerospace undergrad degree apart from working in the aerospace industry? What backup options can I get?</p>
<p>@Freezer Well aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering, being based on the same scientific principles, have a lot of overlap in competency. There are many mechanical engineering positions that can and are filled by aerospace engineers in non-traditional aerospace industries such as automotive, wind energy, and oil and gas, to name a few. The core competency areas of aerospace engineering - fluid dynamics; solid mechanics; and dynamics and controls - are the same as those in mechanical engineering and are applicable to many industries.</p>
<p>The risk is that for some companies and hiring managers, you will have a question mark over your head that makes the people doing the hiring think you are just holding out until a true aerospace position opens up, and so that will potentially hurt your chances until you have some meaningful non-aerospace work experience to prove you aren’t doing that. But, that just means you have to go nail the interview when you get it and put those biases to bed.</p>
<p>The oil and gas industry seems less hampered by those concerns because they figure they don’t have to worry about much since they pay so much more than most other industries that many people who were ideally looking for something else stay on board anyway.</p>
<p>@boneh3ad Thanks for the info, I tried to google it but couldn’t find anything useful, apart from aero engineers working on car aerodynamics. Btw I looked at the job openings for some major engineering companies in different fields, like automotive, naval and energy and did found some aero jobs, but only the most aeroish jobs like aerodynamics, and there were significantly more mech jobs (I think, obviously), including the aero jobs.</p>
<p>So basically I’m in a dilemma right now. If I do a mech degree with, say, aero or auto electives I’ll be able to work in the aero or auto industry, as well as leaving other paths open. If I choose aero or auto to degree in, I pretty much will have to stay in those industries, apart from the few things you mentioned, which are kind of unreasonable to rely on. So let’s say I get a degree in mech with aero electives. Cool, but those guys originally doing aero degree will have a deeper knowledge in it because of the extra classes and modules, thus they’ll be more marketable in the aero field than me. And even as a mech engineer I’ll need to specialize and stay in a specific industry sooner or later (rather sooner), in order to be able to get to higher positions, because for that they require experience in that specific field. So why haven’t I done the aero degree in the first place? Oh yes, because of the wider opportunities of mech. But if I did… Oh it’s a vicious circle X_X Isn’t it the real case? :)</p>
<p>+Extra issue: there’s no astro, only aero industry in the UK :-S</p>
<p>It’s not as cut-and-dried as you are making it out to be. There is a lot of crossover between Mech and Aero as @boneh3ad pointed out. You’re not relegated to aerodynamics work outside of aerospace… heck, you could build rollercoasters if you wanted to, or submarines, or get involved with a variety of jobs in the auto industry (i.e. test engineer, controls engineer, and structures engineer just to name a few). In other words, the job doesn’t have to have the title “Aeronautical Engineer” for you to be eligible. You just have to have the skills/experience that they are looking for. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my undergraduate degree was in mechanical engineering and I would have had no problem going to work for a particular aerospace company with whom I interned had I chosen that route instead of graduate school.</p>
<p>Instead I went to graduate school to get a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering after dealing with your exact dilemma and deciding on mechanical engineering for my baccalaureate.</p>
<p>I’ve got aerospace friends working in mechanical roles and mechanical friends working in aerospace roles (though admittedly more of the latter).</p>
<p>Also, of course there are more job openings for mechanical engineers, as the field is still more versatile on the whole based largely on the increased breadth of the base curriculum. On the other hand, there are a heck of a lot more mechanical engineers overall, so it’s not a big deal.</p>
<p>S had an internship with an aerospace oriented employer. He was asking that very same question of other interns and engineers. The most interesting response which stuck with him…Well, they are almost the same thing. Aerospace requires a few different classes. However, the MBA eventually involved in your hiring process will likely assume aerospace is more of a niche and prefer the generic mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>I still find that to be an interesting response.</p>
<p>YMMV</p>