DD is leaning toward Aerospace Eng as a major in college because she thinks that is the best path to becoming an astronaut. She loves math and science (and is good at it), but she has never been the type to take things apart or build them. Obviously different eng disciplines require different skills and different interests, but I would still think MechE is probably a no-go. Some of the others, though, I am not sure about.
Is there anywhere to take an aptitude test to see what type of engineering might be best for someone. I want her to do something that she will enjoy if the NASA angle doesn’t work out.
Most engineering schools offer a class for freshmen that presents and reviews all of the engineering disciplines at the school. That is a great way to help decide. I went to school to be a MechE, but wound up as a mining engineer because of the intro to engineering program at my school.
Another good idea would be to investigate any college of engineering recruiting programs at the colleges that you visit. My son attended engineering specific sessions at Wash U, Iowa, and Iowa State. They covered all of the programs and he now knows quite a bit about the different options.
There is really no need to worry about this in advance unless you are looking at schools that force you to declare a specific engineering discipline to be admitted… Get admitted to engineering , take the initial classes that everyone has to take and then decide after taking an engineering exploration type class that will outline the options.
My worry is what if she wouldn’t like any engineering discipline and is only going that route because she thinks it is the best path to being an astronaut.
Just remember though that lots of teenagers talk about being astronauts but it doesn’t usually pan out, although no harm in trying. My older kid had that in mind briefly in high school until I pointed out to him that at 6’6" , he was just too tall !
I would never discourage her despite the long odds. I am just trying to help her figure out what the best major is given her personality (but that will still allow her to stay on the astronaut track) She is debating majoring in math instead of engineering and I see that that is a good path as well (and maybe more suited to her).
It might help then if she took a general tour at the colleges she is interested in as well as a separate engineering tour. My older kid considered being a physics major so we took a general tour and spoke with a physics professor and also took a separate engineering department tour. Good luck!
What year is she? If she is a junior, she might like to attend Rose-Hulman’s Operation Catapult camp next summer. 3 weeks, reasonably priced, and they get to do a hands-on engineering related project (and they get some say in what project they do). In addition, there are presentations on the different fields of engineering to help them learn more about them.
@sylvan8798 I was just thinking that MechE was more for people that like to take things apart and/or build them and she has never shown an interest in that.
It is great that she has a career goal. Let her figure out if she will change her mind or not. I remember attending a university lecture by a speaker who said he had dreams to be a soldier, a pilot, a doctor, and an astronaut when he was young. It’s great that his parents did not discourage him to have multiple career goals. He ended up achieved them all.
Aerospace engrg. and Mech Engrg. have a lot of courses in common and are many times in the same department. I started out as an engineering major, but my lack of interest in taking things apart finally steered me to a math major. Anyway, better to start in the engrg. dept because of their course demands, and later switch if she doesn’t like it.
@mathprof63 Is it easier to start in Eng and switch to math or to start in math and switch to Eng?
I’m thinking she might prefer math when she finds out that is an acceptable major for Astronauts and that you don’t have to be an Eng.
Typically the first year courses for math and engrg majors start with calculus. The Engrg. majors take more courses in the freshman year having to do with engrg. So if you start with math major first, it’s harder to switch to engrg b/c you have to take all the freshman engrg. courses. Math is usually in the college of liberal arts, so if you switch out of engrg, you just have to maybe catch up on some liberal arts electives, which are much more flexible.
I think astronauts come from all sorts of scientific backgrounds. I don’t think it’s the sort of thing you apply to right after graduating with a BS degree. I am assuming she has checked out the NASA web page for astronaut requirements? They take only a handful of trainees out of thousands of applicants.
Yes, there are height, vision, blood pressure, health requirements, etc. that also need to be met before you can even be considered so good idea to check all of that out.
DD was a space nut, so she’s had me read a few interesting bio. I’m under the impression that astronauts usually have military background or a partcicular science/engineering specialty. You could learn more here - http://astronauts.nasa.gov/content/faq.htm
They do come from all different backgrounds but apparently Eng is the most common major. You are right, you need more than a BS and she has checked all that out on their web page.
She knows that and is so far undeterred Everyone has always said that she can do anything she sets her mind to, so we are trying to be supportive because she constantly achieves whatever it is that she aims for.
Really there are plenty of Mech E jobs where people aren’t taking things apart. I wouldn’t worry about that per say. She may find the courses interesting or she may not, but there’s plenty she can do eith that as a major.
Agree, starting and possibly moving from engineering into virtually anything else is a breeze. Moving into engineering not so easy. So start with engineering. S put off GEs the first year so he could take courses in a couple different engineering disciplines to get comfortable with his major choice, did take a lot of math as well. His U also offered that intro to engineering course mentioned earlier that exposes them to all types of engineering. Ends up he is dbl majoring in engineering and math.
Everyone has always said that she can do anything she sets her mind to, so we are trying to be supportive because she constantly achieves whatever it is that she aims for.