I’m deciding what major to take when I transfer to a university. I want to work as aerodynamicist one day, but the colleges in my state (South Carolina) does not offer aerospace engineering degrees. The only engineering schools in the state are USC and Clemson and I was wondering is it a better option to get a CS and possibly do a aerospace engineering masters or get a mechanical engineering degree and get a masters in aerospace engineering that way?
You are talking about two very different fields. Computer science is NOT an engineering field. Think more like a practical math major than anything- dealing with software/programming. Computer engineering deals with hardware. A CS degree will not have any of the necessary engineering courses.
You need to discuss your path with a college advisor who is knowledgeable about the various options you are thinking of. Someone in your current school’s computer science department should be able to help. I expect that person to be able to tell you what you can/can’t do with your interest and CS. Also discuss paths available with an advisor in the engineering department to see which lead to your desired goal.
We can give opinions here on CC but you need to talk to the professionals. You have made a start but still have a lot of work to do in finding out how to achieve your career goals.
Aerospace companies hire many kinds of engineers, including mechanical engineers. Some mechanical engineering departments have aerospace-specific elective courses.
My DD majors in Mechanical Engineering and has done two internships in aerospace engineering with two major companies so my suggestion is to major in ME and try do competition teams that have some bearing on AE or research that bears a relationship to AE area. Your suggestion about majoring in ME and then getting a masters in AE is the better way to go.
Computer science is an engineering degree in many schools, especially the better ones. My student’s CS degrees (from different schools) required many engineering courses, just fyi. Their curriculum is very engineering based across engineering disciplines. It is not all programming in any regard. Some schools do put CS in the math department, in which case it isn’t as engineering based. OP should find a school where they are accepted into engineering then get an intro to engineering course, and can move within the department easily between different engineering majors until they settle on one they prefer. A lot of kids (and adults) don’t get the differences in engineering until they really get into it.
Major in ME
Agree with @wis75 that CS to MS AeroE is harder the MechE to MS AeroE. Take a look at the MS pre reqs for any program. Without some extra course work a CS gradute would have some major gaps. The iowa state aeroE graduate admissions statement in the handbook here…
https://www.aere.iastate.edu/files/2017/03/AerE-Graduate-Handbook-Revised-03-2017.pdf