<p>I have a tough decision to make regarding my Ph.D. engineering program. I have up until this point in time avoided Aerospace Engineering do to problems with overspecialization. But designing high performance aircraft and possibly even spacecraft, especially next generation systems, have always been a dream of mine.</p>
<p>I have now been accepted into Georgia Tech's Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering program, and I am again facing the same delimma. Will I have any real career future? Will I just get stuck analyzing inlet airflow or turbine blades when I desire to design the overall aircraft?</p>
<p>New of new private suborbital spacecraft companies and light jets(supposed to operate out of poorly equipped airports) seems quite inspiring, but I have no idea how people like Burt Rutan manage to design 40+ aircraft when others get stuck analyzing vapor flow for the rest of their lives. The field seems interesting enough, but incredibly risky. Does anyone have a clearer understanding of what is happening in this field?</p>
<p>My current background is Electrical Engineering/Physics/Optics. As a fall back plan I can enter University of Florida Electrical Engineering program, probably attempting to study mobile robotics. I like this idea although University of Florida's reputation pales in comparison to Georgia Tech's, and I am uncertain of the quality of their robotics program.</p>
<p>My other alternative is optics and University of Central Florida. Best or nearly in the particular field, but again I am not sure were it is going, but it definitely seems to have more promise than Aerospace Engineering.</p>
<p>Insight on any of these programs would be appreciated.</p>
<p>No advice from anyone. I assume someone on these boards has to know more about the Aerospace industry than I do, and I would greatly appreciate the advice.</p>
<p>Just because you get a PhD in Aerospace doesn't mean you have to work in the aeros industry, just like how you got a degree in EE but are now going for a phd in AE. it will leave plenty of options open to get into whatever you want, especailly if you concentrate in the EE part of aero</p>
<p>I was thinking the same, but there is a slight catch. It seems their is a good chance that I may never get to use the Aerospace Engineering skills learned from my PhD program to do what I want, which is to design aircraft "as a whole". This might be simply because I might end up not getting employed do to the small size and volatility of the industry, or because I get specialized in a specific aircraft part or system, which I do not desire.</p>
<p>Contrast this with say Mobile Robotics, where I will likely be designing a building robotic vehicles while still in college even before entering the workplace, and maybe you can see my reluctance to enter the field. One field pratically guarantees I will be working on the projects that I entered the field for, while in the case of Aerospace Engineering, this guarantee does not hold.</p>
<p>Also, if I get employed to use my Aerospace Engineering skills in an industry other than aerospace, what type of things would I be doing.</p>
<p>I'm a 2nd-year Aerospace Engineering major at GT. I don't know all that much about the industry, but I'll share what I know/heard.</p>
<p>AE is definitely a specialized field. It's linked closely with Mechanical Engineering, except that everything is tied back to aircraft/spacecraft, whereas ME is much more general.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what you mean by "designing aircraft as a whole." Aircraft are so complex that it's always a team effort to design anything. If you mean being part of a design group that works on new aircraft and their specifications, that's definitely a possibility, but you're right, it's not guaranteed.</p>
<p>I think the bottom line is that aircraft design is so involved that it gets broken down into much smaller pieces for engineers to handle. You might not be putting all those pieces back together, but I think each part, whether it be turbine flow, aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, structures, control, avionics, etc. is essentially part of designing the whole air vehicle.</p>
<p>Yes, my intent when going into Aerospace Engineering would be participating in a design group that designs new aircraft and specifications, or something very close to that.</p>
<p>I understand that aircraft are incredibly complex systems that require engineers dedicated to very specific task, which is exactly why I am reluctant to enter the field. Sure avionics or turboflow are essential to aircraft design a performance, but I certainly do not want to spend extended periods of my life designing for turboflow. </p>
<p>I would be entering the field with the desire to design and conceive new aircraft, not new aircraft parts. I would be greatly disappointed if a spent a significant amount of time in a Ph.D. program only to end up designing for one specific aircraft subsystem.</p>
<p>Uus, have you considered doing a PhD in systems engineering, doing your dissertation on optimal spacecraft design, or AUV design. That way, you develop an expertise in finding a good "system of systems" design, and you don't lose all that experience you gained in aircraft design.</p>
<p>I don't know if GT has a systems engineering department, but I'll bet it does. And, I'm sure that they would love to have a cross-department doctoral program.</p>
<p>They do have an Aerospace Engineering Design Lab that seems to advertise a "system of systems" approach, that is part of the Aerospace Engineering department, rather than a seperate department. Perhaps that might be appriopriate.</p>
<p>Despite all this, I still can't seem to chose one way or the other. The risk of entering this program and losing the opportunities of other programs, such as Robotics or Optics, is keeping me away from it.</p>
<p>Just tell me this, if I go into Aerospace Engineering, and focus on Aerospace Systems Design, will I end of designing the aircraft themselves? Or is it still very likely I will just be designing aircraft parts.</p>
<p>Uus, nobody's going to know the future. Consder this: look to the companies that make the things you want to design. Go to their websites, and look at their job opportunities. Look for jobs where you design the entire aircraft. What are those job titles? What educational requirements are need to take those jobs? I think I see lots of advertisements for systems engineers. I don't know if this is common in the aerospace industry, though.</p>
<p>Do you limit yourself to just aircraft? What about unmanned aero vehicles (UAVs)? I think the market for these might be more promising. And, of course, there's spacecraft and boosters--these all require systems designers.</p>