<p>To the OP,dariusz
Which university did you decide on and did you land a job at NASA?
If not…where?</p>
<p>u of Maryland is in the top ten for aerospace, and the NASA Goddard flight center is 10 mins away. the Goddard flight center is actually a pretty important, and not just some info center.</p>
<p>aerospace engineering is a very interesting degree…but which shool offers the best? <a href=“Best Aerospace Engineering Colleges | List of Top Schools for Aeronautical Engineers”>http://www.ranker.com/list/best-colleges-for-aerospace-engineering/college-info</a></p>
<p>Necro!</p>
<p>You should probably start your own thread, but I’ll go ahead and say “best” depends on how you measure what’s best. Are you interested in helicopters or hybrid rocket engines, structures or controls? Do you decide based on how many papers are published by the department or how much they focus on teaching foundational coursework? I think if you added up the alumni counts, you’d find more Purdue graduates at NASA than MIT, does that mean Purdue is the best? Perhaps you measure it by degree cost / divided by median income of graduates?</p>
<p>Point is, which program is best is a qualified statement at the very least.</p>
<p>Reminder - You can work in aerospace industry without a specialized aerospace degree. </p>
<p>That is an important thing I’ve learned. From discussing with some others who were on teams with mechanical engineers and aerospace, in a aerospace facility, the aerospace engineers initially had a “knowledge” edge over the mechanical engineers, but within weeks the mech engs. got the hang of everything they needed to know about aerospace.</p>
<p>Given the unsteady nature of defense and aerospace funding, you may be better off going in mechanical. In any case, any ABET accredited engineering degree is “worth your time”. However, schools that are in close proximity to a lot of engineering firms can help you get jobs quicker out of college. That and the cost of the school should be the main things you consider here.</p>
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<p>This is mostly true, however, there are some jobs where an aerospace engineering degree is strongly preferred. Aerodynamics, Stability and Control, Loads, Aero Systems Engineer, Aero Structural Analysis, Flight Test Engineering, Orbital Analysis… just to name a few. </p>
<p>It’s true that those with other engineering backgrounds, such as Mechanical, could train into these jobs, but many companies prefer pure aero/astronautical engineers. On the flip side, there are some aerospace-related jobs where aero/astro engineers are NOT preferred… such as electrical system design, computer engineering, etc. </p>
<p>1) Nice thread necro.</p>
<p>2) @fractalmstr That’s incredibly misleading. There are far fewer positions than that where an aerospace engineer are actually preferred. It is 100% about your skill set and ability to learn for most of those jobs, not the title on your degree. Some entry-level aerodynamics positions are going to prefer aerospace engineers as would most entry-level weights and balances positions, but things like structures are going to exhibit much less of a preference in either direction since the training is so similar. Shoot, my undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum had a better dynamics and controls component to it than the undergraduate aerospace curriculum at my graduate institution, so that field isn’t so cut-and-dried either.</p>
<p>Suffice it to say there are ample opportunities for both mechanical and aerospace engineers at aerospace companies. There are advantages and disadvantages to each degree that, for the most part, come down to a balance between specialization and versatility, but anymore even that line is somewhat blurry.</p>
<p>It’s not at all misleading. I never said “most”, or “many” of the jobs prefer aero degrees, I said “some”. There are <em>some</em> positions which WILL have a bias towards those with an aerospace engineering degree, and the associated strengths that come with it. I don’t see how that is misleading. A typical non-aero track ME student will have diddly for aerodynamics, and/or stability and control training (whereas a typical AE program will cover low and high speed aerodynamics and stability control). Do you really think a company is going to consider an AE and ME the same in this scenario? I don’t think so…</p>
<p>So, like everything else, it really depends on what the student is interested in doing. Would I recommend an ME degree to a student who wants to become an Aerodynamicist? No. Unless he/she plans on specializing later on with an MS degree.</p>
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<p>Agree!</p>
<p>I’m a MechE, and DS is EE. My Aerospace comments are based on observations and college tours over the years, not personal experience. To me, a good compromise to consider is BSME (or EE)… with possibility of doing masters in aerospace area of interest.</p>