<p>I'm from South Dakota and I would like to major in aerospace engineering, but I'm having some doubts about it. Since the aerospace indsutry isn't so spectacular right now, I'm a little worried about the job outlook. It'll be quite a blow when I get my major and my doctorate down the road and realize that all that's left is an aging and arteriosclerotic aerospace industry. I realize that I could still find teaching positions, etc. But, I'm mostly interested in working as an engineer in the industry.</p>
<p>What are some good colleges for aerospace? Here are my stats:</p>
<p>ACT: 35
SAT II Math IIC: 800
SAT II Chem: 800
SAT II US History: 760
GPA: 3.975 unweighted, 4.3 weighted
8 AP classes (lowest score is 4), the rest of my classes are honors</p>
<p>ECs:
Debate/Forensics, varsity 3 years
Band, percussionist, 8 years
Quiz Bowl, 3 years (2 yrs as team captain)
Science Bowl
350+ volunteer hours as an interactor at science center
100+ hours as lab assistant at a local college
100+ hours as a Teen Court attorney
Started Spectrum, a club that promotes tolerance after a series of race-motivated incidents at school
1st place state History Day
1st place @ 4 math contests at local universities
Intramural tennis</p>
<p>I'm currently looking at MIT, Embry-Riddle (either campus), and Iowa State (close to home).
Any input is appreciated!</p>
<p>That is a very impressive Academic Record. No matter how poor an industry is looking, if you are highly skilled, there will always be a need for your knowledge. So stay motivated, work hard to obtain your goals and suprising things will come your way.</p>
<p>I can't remember where I read it, but I read that you could be better off with a mechanical engr. degree, which is apparently similar. You can still get a job in aerospace, but you haven't narrowed your options so much.</p>
<p>i just went through the four-year plan for ucsd me and ae programs (both are in the mech and aero eng department there). 4 courses (about a quarters worth) don't overlap, and the final capstone courses are different as well. probably very similar elsewhere. :)</p>
<p>Top Aerospace programs:
1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
2. Georgia Institute of Technology
3. University of MichiganAnn Arbor
4. Purdue Univ.West Lafayette
5. California Institute of Technology
6. Stanford University
7. U. of IllinoisUrbana-Champaign
8. Princeton University
9. University of TexasAustin
10. Univ. of MarylandCollege Park
11. University of Washington
12. Cornell University
13. Texas A&M Univ.College Station
University of CaliforniaBerkeley
15. Pennsylvania State U.University Park
Univ. of CaliforniaLos Angeles<br>
17. University of ColoradoBoulder<br>
18. Ohio State UniversityColumbus
19. Virginia Tech
20. University of Florida</p>
<p>With your stats, Michigan would be a great backup school, but it's expensive out of state.</p>
<p>It isn't too difficult to double major in aerospace and mechanical engineering in quite a few schools due to the overlap. It would be a bit more work, but could be worth if if you are worried. Your stats and Ec's are excellent, and you have a legitimate shot at any school.</p>
<p>I'd check out the programs at the schools you're interested in, as well. Although it's good to get a broad base of knowledge as an undergrad and leave specialization for grad school, there's something to be said about majoring in aerospace in a strong program as an undergrad.</p>
<p>At MIT, the aero/astro majors take all of the mechE core classes in a single year of insanity and masochism, then go on to learn lots more ridiculousness in their junior and senior years. An MIT aero/astro undergrad is just as well prepared as an MIT mechE student in mechE-type jobs (according to the boyfriend, who is an aero/astro major and a consummate airplane snob).</p>
<p>I think that you should apply to more schools than just emory riddle, iowa state, and MIT - especially with your credentials.</p>
<p>Def. apply to UIUC, UMAA, Cornell, and Columbia.</p>
<p>I also recommend you major in something like mechE. </p>
<p>However, if you have the dedication and intelligence (which it seems like you do), do a double major in MechE and AerospaceE; many of the basics are somewhat related. </p>
<p>Or, you could get a BA in mechE now and get your graduate degree in aerospace if you wish. MechE's are very flexible.</p>
<p>Princeton's aerospace major is in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department... The courses you choose determine your concentration, but your degree reads both. If you wanted to keep your options open, you could do something like that.</p>
<p>You stated that you wanted to go on to grad school. If your weren't sure about your degree and wanted to keep options open with grad school as a definite possibility I say major in MechE and take a lot of AeroE electives.to feed your interest. (A double major would be a lot of time and work but if anyone could handle it I think it would be you.) In grad school you can get your degree in AeroE there.</p>
<p>holy crap man get those are some pretty crazy EC's and seems like u spend some timeworkin your ass off studying. I am wondering what kind of life you have outside of school.....im thinking around.............ummmm.........none!!!! If I could give you any advice you should take your high school senior year as a year to kick back and have some fun man. Hang out with friends and make relationships that will last</p>
<p>funny...rocketman was going to be my username on this forum....</p>
<p>i was looking at your stats and interests and basically, i thought i was looking at myself. </p>
<p>i, myself, have an interest in aerospace engineering. i, however, went the approach as to gain a broad understanding of the engineering/sciences and become more narrow later on.</p>
<p>haha...i am a percussionist as well (mostly marimba, hand drums, and sound research)! i sort of live a dual life here at harvey mudd - a am a musician and an engineer. oddly, even though i am not nearly as musically involved as i was before, i have been gaining a lot of musical support and opportunity. </p>
<p>engineering here is very intensive, to say the least. they cram you full and work you so hard that many people break-down and cry. conversely, however, i love my classes (all 8 of them, 6 technical). people here are brilliant... 1470 avg SAT, great AP scores, but most importantly- passion and drive!</p>
<p>well, i suppose you have already applied to colleges and should be hearing back pretty soon from them. its okay, you can always transfer. :)</p>
<p>mudd only offers a general engineering degree...which is tough because there are so many things to cover.</p>
<p>if you want to get a masters/PhD, mudd is a great place to start your journey- 65% of students go on to get a masters and 37% go on to get a PhD.
rumor has it that grads can essentially "pick" their grad school - whether it be mit, caltech, princeton, stanford, or whatnot. i don't know the level of truth of this statement, but i do know that the previously mentioned schools are where you really want to be for grad school (more-so than undergrad).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Since the aerospace indsutry isn't so spectacular right now, I'm a little worried about the job outlook. It'll be quite a blow when I get my major and my doctorate down the road and realize that all that's left is an aging and arteriosclerotic aerospace industry. I realize that I could still find teaching positions, etc. But, I'm mostly interested in working as an engineer in the industry.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't want to discourage you, but if you think the aerospace industry isn't so spectacular right now (or as of July 2005 when you wrote your post), then I'm afraid I have to tell you that your expectations may not be in order. The fact is, aerospace has actually been going through something of a golden period for the last 3-4 years or so. After all, the War on Terror and the Iraq war resulted in major increases in defense expenditures, especially for aerospace technology (i.e. missiles, satellites, radar systems, fighters, helicopters, unmanned drones, etc.) Military aerospace companies like Raytheon, UTC, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grunman, the military division of Boeing, Bell Helicopter, the aircraft engine division of GE, Rolls Royce (which now makes aircraft engines), etc. have all been hiring like mad. The civilian aerospace companies like Boeing and Airbus have also been booming because of huge orders for jetliners, especially from Asian airline companies. </p>
<p>So if you're saying that aerospace doesn't look spectacular right now during one of its golden periods, then I don't know what to tell you. I don't want to discourage you, but I would say that aerospace is lucky to have it as good as it has it right now.</p>
<p>To add to that, a great deal of aerospace engineers are right around retirement age right now, after coming on board during the 60's (placing those 20 year old grads right around 55-65, or 59-74 when the current freshmen graduate). .: not only is demand increasing, but even if it was constant, the available pool is decreasing.</p>
<p>Also, due in part to congressional mandates, there's a huge push towards the development of AAV's, not just unmanned dones (AAV's being fully autonmous, from wheels up to wheels down). As you may expect, developing huge numbers of these for a variety of tasks requires the work of many talented engineers, thereby increasing the demand for engineers.</p>
I’m also interested in aerospace engineering/aeronautical engineering and since 11 years passed since this was posted. if you majored in aerospace engineering, I want to know if it’s worth it?