B.S. Mechanical & M.S. Aerospace vs B.S. M.S. Aerospace

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

I’m currently tossing around the idea of getting a B.S. Mechanical & M.S. Aerospace. My second year is coming up, and depending if I decide to keep on the path of a B.S. in Mechanical or if I decide to switch to a B.S. in Aerospace will heavily influence if I need to transfer from my current CC program.

Until real recently I was actually planning on going into Mechanical fully, and wanting to get into the automotive industry, but a classmate brought up the idea of NASA. I had just never considered the possibility to be honest. I love the idea of going into the space industry, but It’s also a very niche market. I’m currently young and I don’t mind the idea of having to move around to find a decent job, but the problem is the Aerospace industry is still focused in specific locations. Where a Mechanical degree I can pretty much go just about anywhere to find a job. I do know that if I was working in a specific industry and decided to switch I would lose the experience based pay, but maybe down the road I will consider that worth while. I just don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket if you will.

My classmate had me convinced to double major in Mechanical/Aerospace, but after doing a lot of reading some of it from this website I’ve gotten the impression it’s just not worth the effort compared to going into a masters program.

I was also tossing around the idea if I get a B.S.in Mechanical I can use all my technical electives for Aerospace classes, but I also read even if I do that It’s still possible to be passed on job in the Aerospace industry just because your degree says Mechanical as well if you do get hired you would likely be put into a more mechanical based job at an Aerospace firm.

I had also heard that if you get a B.S. in Aerospace that you should be able to get a job in the Mechanical field if you are struggling to find a job in Aerospace, but there wasn’t a conceive answer as well debate about this.

So after talking with the universities adviser he suggested that I go ahead and get a B.S. in Mechanical then go into a M.S. for Aerospace. This seems like the best option for me, but I’m still wondering about the negatives. If I choose this path I will be using all my technical electives for Aerospace classes which will hinder my Mechanical knowledge slightly. As well because I didn’t get a B.S. in Aerospace I’m wondering how it will impact my grad courses. Do you usually need to take additional course work to catch up in terms of Aerospace understanding? The only other negative I saw was that I would be unable to apply for the 5 year M.S. program for Aerospace because I didn’t get a B.S. in Aerospace. I’m okay with that though. I think adding on an extra year for the diversity in terms of job market is worth it.

I’m just looking for some advice, and direction any help would be appreciated. The engineering adviser at my school directed me to the director of the M.S. program, but he said nothing just that it was a good idea. He didn’t really address any of my questions or concerns.

2

The two [BS] degrees share many of the same classes (with core classes being exactly the same), and in most cases, career opportunities will be about the same as well. If you need proof of this, just take a look at any engineering job postings at various companies that fall within the purview of aerospace/mechanical engineering. You will notice that most of the postings belong to one of three camps: 1) “engineering degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, etc etc related engineering field from an ABET accredited program”, 2) “aerospace or mechanical engineering degree”, or 3) specifically “aerospace” or “mechanical” engineering degree. Most BS/MS level jobs usually fall into camps 1 and 2, with relatively few falling into camp 3.

Personally, as someone who is currently working in the aerospace field, I can tell you that worrying about which degree will give you more job opportunities is a waste of time and energy. The reality is that there are generally few cases where you will be exclusively shut out of a job because you have an aerospace engineering degree instead of a mechanical engineering degree.

FWIW, on the flip side, there are even some aerospace jobs that prefer aerospace engineering degrees over mechanical engineering degrees (assuming the mechanical engineer didn’t take extra classes related to the desired job)… jobs in areas such as aircraft/spacecraft stability and control, aerodynamics, and orbital mechanics, just to name a few.

3

I’m not talking about just looking for jobs in the Aerospace market. I was suggesting the idea of being able to go outside the Aerospace market, and trying to find a job in the Mechanical market with an Aerospace degree. Right now I’m my youth I don’t mind moving around the country, but when I get older if I decide I wanted to move I would be heavily limited in terms of location in the Aerospace job market. From the hunting around on posts I have seen. It’s quiet possible to be denied a Mechanical job with an Aerospace degree.