Hello! I have a bachelors in Aerospace Engineering and although I loved Aerospace I’m starting to wonder if it’s possible to change career paths to EE. After a year in the industry and receiving some exposure to controls and software development, I’m starting feel that my true passion may lie in fields relyinng heavily on processing signals and component development. I know Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering offer opportunities in that direction but for some reason my mind keeps going back to EE. Is it possible to switch or is it too late?
You have several approaches to explore.
Look at the EE MS programs of some sample schools you are considering and see what they require for admission. It may be possible for you to enter directly. Also give the graduate advisor a call; sometimes the info on the web may not be complete, there may be other programs you can use to get accepted.
Some schools offer “provisional admission” in which they admit you to a MS program on the condition you first take the missing courses after enrollment before officially starting the degree program. The Cal-State schools offer this.
Other schools in your area may offer similar programs.
Many public schools have an Extension program that offers the ability to take any class in the regular U without being admitted as a student. So in this approach you’d find out what classes you are missing, take them via Extension, and then apply for regular admission to your choice of MSEE programs.
There are also distance education programs offered by colleges such as USC, Stanford, etc. The one at USC is http://online.usc.edu/programs/electrical-engineering-ms/ and it looks like they just require an engineering degree to enroll. The advantage of these programs is that many employers will pay for them; you take a class or two every semester and eventually get a degree. It’s a hard approach since you are also working full time, but it avoids the debt of attending college on your own dime.
Thanks! Looks like I’ve got a bit of research to do!
You may not even need to do that much. One of my colleagues at UIUC went from a BSEE straight into an MS in Aero, having never taken a single Aero course. It very much depends on the program!
One thing I thought I should add is that if you are applying to schools like the CSU that provisionally admit students, don’t just send off an app and hope for the best. The college may be huge, but the grad student population in a given major is not. It really is a small pool. Contact them to go over your transcript and understand what you are missing and what they’ll want you to take. The grad student advisor is just sitting in her/his office staring out the window waiting for someone to show up 
My hunch is that a student that just sends in an app and is missing courses may be just turned down, while one that has worked with them and indicated a willingness to take the missing courses while enrolled will have a better outcome. I know someone who did this and they were accepted.