- #1
aeroeng212
- 10
- 0
Hi everybody-
I've been having trouble choosing between aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering for a long time now and now that I'll be leaving for college (Virginia Tech) soon a certain sense of urgency has spurred my desire to find as much background on the concerned topics as possible.
I was wondering if any mechanical or aerospace engineers or engineering students could help me out? Perhaps relay personal experiences or advice on the topic...?
My problem is that I'm really worried that I'll be missing out on certain important topics if I pursue one discipline rather than the other (just as far as the university degree programs are concerned).
I've gotten all the seemingly stereotypical responses ("do what interests you" and "give it time") and I'm very thankful for the help, I'm just starting to wonder if there is some method or idea I could use to sleep at night... haha...
(yeah I know I'm starting to worry about this a little too much I guess...)
I guess my question is somewhere along the lines of "With a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering will I be more/less qualified than a person with a mechanical engineering degree (and vice versa)?"
I'm very interested in aircraft design, but I'm also very interested in the design of renewable energy systems and resources. Generally does a bachelor's degree in one or the other (mechanical or aerospace engineering) bar me from pursuing a career in both of these fields?
I'm under the impression that an aerospace engineering major gets more background in fluid mechanics/aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics- while a mechanical engineering major may get a more "diverse" background (in anything from FEM to structural design and vehicle dynamics) -- Is this true?
At this point I've heard some talk stating that an aerospace engineering major can pull off anything a mechanical engineer can do, as well as other statements implying that aerospace engineering is just a sub-discipline of mechanical engineering and is therefor more imited in application. I'M SO CONFUSED!
Looking at the classes at Virginia Tech offered in both majors, the ones in the aerospace engineering program seem to hold my interest more than the mech ones do. The problem is that, as an engineer, I don't want to "put myself in a box" and I really believe in the power of drawing from many different and diverse sciences to accomplish a task (in this case the design of whatever it may be that I am working on). I'm concerned that aerospace engineering doesn't draw on a wide enough scope of other applicable ideas and fields (or atleast not as extensive as what mechanical engineering calls into play). Then again-- I've also heard that an aerospace engineer has to do some of the most creative and stringent engineering and design as well (since many times the design criteria is so harsh and unforgiving -- by this I mean the vehicle has to fly- potentially into space...). I'm just not sure what out of this sounds accurate.
I'd really appreciate any feedback, preferably from those of you in one of/both of the fields (aerospace and/or mechanical eng).
Sorry for the long post- and thanks for any help!
I've been having trouble choosing between aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering for a long time now and now that I'll be leaving for college (Virginia Tech) soon a certain sense of urgency has spurred my desire to find as much background on the concerned topics as possible.
I was wondering if any mechanical or aerospace engineers or engineering students could help me out? Perhaps relay personal experiences or advice on the topic...?
My problem is that I'm really worried that I'll be missing out on certain important topics if I pursue one discipline rather than the other (just as far as the university degree programs are concerned).
I've gotten all the seemingly stereotypical responses ("do what interests you" and "give it time") and I'm very thankful for the help, I'm just starting to wonder if there is some method or idea I could use to sleep at night... haha...
(yeah I know I'm starting to worry about this a little too much I guess...)
I guess my question is somewhere along the lines of "With a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering will I be more/less qualified than a person with a mechanical engineering degree (and vice versa)?"
I'm very interested in aircraft design, but I'm also very interested in the design of renewable energy systems and resources. Generally does a bachelor's degree in one or the other (mechanical or aerospace engineering) bar me from pursuing a career in both of these fields?
I'm under the impression that an aerospace engineering major gets more background in fluid mechanics/aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics- while a mechanical engineering major may get a more "diverse" background (in anything from FEM to structural design and vehicle dynamics) -- Is this true?
At this point I've heard some talk stating that an aerospace engineering major can pull off anything a mechanical engineer can do, as well as other statements implying that aerospace engineering is just a sub-discipline of mechanical engineering and is therefor more imited in application. I'M SO CONFUSED!
Looking at the classes at Virginia Tech offered in both majors, the ones in the aerospace engineering program seem to hold my interest more than the mech ones do. The problem is that, as an engineer, I don't want to "put myself in a box" and I really believe in the power of drawing from many different and diverse sciences to accomplish a task (in this case the design of whatever it may be that I am working on). I'm concerned that aerospace engineering doesn't draw on a wide enough scope of other applicable ideas and fields (or atleast not as extensive as what mechanical engineering calls into play). Then again-- I've also heard that an aerospace engineer has to do some of the most creative and stringent engineering and design as well (since many times the design criteria is so harsh and unforgiving -- by this I mean the vehicle has to fly- potentially into space...). I'm just not sure what out of this sounds accurate.
I'd really appreciate any feedback, preferably from those of you in one of/both of the fields (aerospace and/or mechanical eng).
Sorry for the long post- and thanks for any help!