I’m shifting back and forth between pursuing aerospace engineering or mechanical. I’m well aware that mechanical engineering jobs are everywhere and aerospace aren’t as common, but I feel as though aerospace truly is my passion. (I’m also a private pilot). Is it worth following my passion and studying aerospace, or will I regret it and have too much difficulty finding work? How often does an aerospace degree qualify for engineering jobs that don’t have to do with aircraft? Any ME or AE majors, or engineers, I’d appreciate your input. Thank you
You could major in mech and then take a lot of your electives in aero if the school offers both. There can be a lot of crossover. If you major in Mech at a school that also offers aero, there will be a lot of recruiting on campus.
Consider schools with mechanical engineering where you can take aerospace electives within your major, so that you can both get the broader degree (with a greater range of major-specific employment options) while being able to take in-major electives in your desired subarea.
Thank you both very much for your replies. My issue is that Purdue ME is closed to transfer students, and NIU doesn’t have any aerospace. (These are two schools I’m interested in). I think UIUC might be my next best bet for the broader degree with aerospace classes too.
You don’t need a degree in aerospace to work in the aerospace industry. The aerospace industry hires materials engineers, chemical engineers, structural engineers and just about any kind of engineering you can think of. I was (i.e., now retired) a structural engineer in the aerospace industry working on NASA manned programs. My degree is in Civil Engineering with a focus on structural engineering.
My son has a BS in ME and is closing in on his MS in ME. He interned for an aerospace company and his thesis is an aerospace project. He’s never taken an aerospace course per se (i.e. a class in the AERO dept). He has though taken every undergraduate and graduate class in fluids in the ME department. The AE department at his school has more of a systems level approach than the ME department.
As was previously mentioned by @HPuck35, the needs in the industry are BROAD. You probably don’t have enough of a foundation to decide what you specifically want to do. Pick a school with both where switching between the two has fairly low barriers and then make your final decision after you have some courses under your belt.
In your neck of the woods (assuming IL or IN, based on NIU, UIUC, and Purdue being mentioned) IIT, Iowa State, Missouri S&T, Kansas, Wichita State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State all have AE. If they have AE, it would be unlikely that they don’t have ME.
Interesting thread! My son is also interested in Aerospace Engineering (thinks he wants to build rocket-ships). He also was accepted to UMiami for Aerospace Engineering (BSASE). I see they also have a BSME program with a concentration in Aerospace. Non-STEM mom wondering what the differences would be? It seems like perhaps someone who wants to BUILD in aerospace would maybe want the ME program more? The website descriptions are not terribly helpful in my opinion.
From UMiami website:
The objectives of the BSASE program is to prepare graduates who, within the first four to six years after graduation are, either:
The objectives of the BSME – Aerospace Engineering Concentration program is to prepare graduates who, within the first four to six years after graduation are, either:
The curriculum are exactly the same until the second half of junior year. After that, they still have quite a few similarities. If switching isn’t a big deal at The U, then it doesn’t matter. He can start in either one, and as he learns more, which won’t happen until about Junior year anyway, then he can choose the one that best fits his interests.
@LuvsLabs There isn’t much difference between UM’s ASE program and it’s ME-ASE concentration. Maybe 3 or 4 classes?
He’ll likely not have to decide between the two unit late in his junior year. I wouldn’t worry about the differences, your son will have plenty of time to work that out, while he’s at UM.
I looked over the two curriculums and my eyes started to cross - I would have had to make a chart to see what you seem to have understood instantly, @eyemgh - Thank you for highlighting the difference you spotted for me!
(I did see that the BSME also requires 129 credits vs. 126 for the BSASE, although 3 credits doesn’t seem like much of a hurdle.)
@LuvsLabs The curricula for both programs are essentially identical (and the first 5 semesters are actually identical). I would recommend the BSME simply because the degree (“mechanical”) is more likely to be viewed as applicable to a wide variety of fields than “aerospace,” even though the content of both is equal. In other words, the BSME is less likely to close doors than the BSASE. That said, the Aerospace degree would probably be fine, too.
Personally, I think the level of fear some have about AE employability is unfounded. I used to be one of those people and got an ME degree because AE worried me. I ended up in graduate school for aerospace anyway and watched people get jobs just as easily in either field.
I think to even call the programs different is an interesting stretch. They are essentially the exact same programs with very slightly different concentrations. No employer will care. they’ll simply look to see if the coursework is relevant to what they are hiring for.