Good evening everybody! I am a sophomore student that is trying to plan out his life. How does a college degree prepare someone for a type of job? How do I not narrow down my opportunities with my degree? I am genuinely interested in aerodynamics, engines, programming, and building stuff. This is from my experience in space based competitions, robotics competitions, cyber-security competitions, and my hobbies. I am also interested in the space industry which is growing is growing right now. Is there a good way to research questions so that I may get a degree that will get me a role in space?
A bachelor’s degree has been becoming the normal to get a job. Especially if you would like to work with space and are interested in engines and robotics, maybe consider aerospace engineering.
Sophomore in high school or in college?
Career choices are, at least in part, about opening some doors while closing others. That’s just a fact a life - if you choose a path there may be another path that you have to turn away from or pass by. That’s not a bad thing; it just is. It doesn’t mean that you can’t go back and learn new skills later, reinvent yourself, or change careers. But sometimes you have to make choices about what you want to do, which will involve narrowing down opportunities. So don’t try to avoid that.
Honestly, given your interests aerospace engineering does sound like a perfect major for you. Here’s a list of schools with aerospace engineering programs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aerospace_engineering_schools#United_States. (They may not all have bachelor’s programs, although I think most of them do). You could also study mechanical engineering with the right coursework, I believe.
Thank you very much everybody! I’ll look into that.