<p>The main reason I'm doing AeroE is because my interest in NASA/space. With Obama killing space travel beyond the station, is this something I should really worry about? I might consider another major if there's not going to be much to look forward to in space travel.</p>
<p>I don’t quite know all of the details with regards to Pres. Obama’s latest cuts with regards to NASA, but I believe from what I understand that the cuts are meant to shift the programs to private businesses like Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop, etc. I wouldn’t think that an aero degree will be worthless just because of recent changes. Anyone else?</p>
<p>I think the privatization would do just the opposite; you have nothing to worry about, privatization will only help advance space travel without NASA’s bs (as a few might say).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Can you elaborate? And before you do so, you do understand that a lot of NASA’s work is done by on-site (and off-site for that matter) private contractors?</p>
<p>The latest Obama budget actually INCREASES NASA’s budget. However, they canceled Constellation because it was overbudget (like every major undertaking at any company program ) and behind schedule (also like every other major project). Instead, the money is supposed to be going to develop new technologies like new propulsion and life support techniques that will let us have loftier goals later. It is also encouraging more participation from companies like Space X, who NASA is starting to contract with to build rockets and launch payloads.</p>
<p>So no, NASA is not going away. They are going to have a ton of research going on, even more than before. The problem is, with the plan Obama just created, we may develop all this technology, but we won’t be putting people into orbit at the same time. It will take something like 15 years before we could design an all new system from scratch, and that is a very optimistic estimate. Meanwhile, the Russians, and soon the Chinese, will have the only manned spaceflight programs, so any time we want our guys to go up, we will have to piggyback them on a foreign rocket. I have a feeling this won’t last too long. Something will give and we will have to do something to be able to send our guys up on our own hardware, it just isn’t in the plan right now. I would bet that it will be before too long.</p>
<p>I’m in the biz…
I’ve worked at JPL for awhile and now I work at one of the private manned space flight companies…</p>
<p>There are plenty of excellent opportunities for young aerospace engineers right now. This redirection has shifted the focus onto private companies which means job openings!!! Of course, my company plans to stay small, but most will explode!</p>
<p>If you dont mind me asking, in which field or fields (structures, fluids, controls, etc.) specifically are there excellent opportunities. How should an interested or prospect job seeker prepare, and be in good standing to obtain such opportunities? </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>All fields.</p>
<p>A good way to stand out is to be genuinely passionate about the subject your applying for. This means pursuing extra research and learning outside the classroom - whether it be in a college lab, in a college club, or in your garage. Own the material. Get an intuitive sense for things.</p>
<p>Like Boneh3ad said, all fields have lots of opportunities.</p>
<p>
Oh I was just being dramatic, don’t worry.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Dramatic, or ignorant?</p>
<p>Like Boeing, NASA has become primarily a research center and vehicle integrator. JPL does cut a lot of its own chips but still a good portion of subsystems are sent out to contractors. </p>
<p>I’m less familiar with other NASA centers but I don’t think NASA has ever really done a lot of fabrication work. The systems are contracted out (and subcontracted) and integrated on site to form the vehicle.</p>
<p>This shift in direction really puts NASA’s focus less on hard deliverables (vehicles, etc) and more on fundamental and applied technological research for use by ITAR-compliant aerospace companies. Aerospace companies will be building their own vehicles (with the technical aid of NASA), which increases the risk/reward by a competitive and open marketplaces.</p>
<p>My company was recently awarded a bit of money by NASA to provide some technology-developing methods for advanced composite manned crew capsules and new launch abort technologies. We won’t deliver goods but we’ll deliver information to NASA… which happens to be stuff that was already on the horizon for us. That’s a win-win situation.</p>
<p>In short, NASA will become a national research institute rather than a project-driven organization.</p>