Follow me becoming and Aerospace Engineer

[AeroAstroNut]

I plan on giving lots of insight and asking my fair share on this awesome forum. One thing that I'd like to share is my blog on how I'm becoming an Aerospace Engineer, for any of you that are interested in possibly becoming one some day. I write at least once a day on subjects involving struggles in college and new cool things going on, such as the new Constellation Program at NASA.

Check it out, let me know what you think, or if you have any questions.

http://aeroastronut.wordpress.com

Follow me on Twitter for updates and other Aerospace info >> http://twitter.com/AeroAstroNut

AeroAstroNut

 

[AeroAstroNut]

If anyone is interested or have questions about becoming an aerospace engineer please reply and let me know what area. I'd love to do some articles on various questions that people have.

Examples:

- What kind of schools are the best
- Is Aerospace a good field to get into
- What the heck is Aerospace

Let me know.

Thanks

 

[redargon]

I'm a qualified aeronautical engineer, let me know if you have any questions and I'll see if I can help too.

 

[AeroAstroNut]

I'm a qualified aeronautical engineer, let me know if you have any questions and I'll see if I can help too.

I have a question? Are you currently working in an Aerospace Engineering position? Do you enjoy it if you do? If you're not currently working in Aerospace, why not?

I'm just curious, I know a lot of AE don't always end up where you think they might, possibly because more of their jobs are in defense.

Thanks

 

[redargon]

If I tell you, I'll have to kill you :tongue:. No, I work for a company that has two divisions, a space division (satellites, ISS, etc) and a commercial product design and consulting division. At the moment I have a contract with the latter division, but have had the opportunity to work contracts in the space division as well.

I enjoy all engineering, so product design (I work as a system engineer on projects here) is very interesting and gives me the opportunity to think beyond my scope and to learn a lot about other fields in the process. I like the aerospace work, but the projects are usually long term (1-10years) and that can sometimes (from what I've heard) get monotonous. Commercial product development also gives me a lot of freedom to try new ideas without the risk of going against very strict (space) specifications and standards.

I've always loved military aircraft. They are works of art (for the most part), but I'm still on the fence if I'd like to be part of a design team for one or any defence project where I know that the final product is something that has the potential to inflict a lot of damage (possibly to innocents). That's why I stick to space stuff (non defense) and commercial products.

 

[Agent M27]

Great topic AeroAstroNut. I had received my BA for business, long story short, I am enrolling back in school in the fall for a BS in Mechanical then off to Aerospace Engineering. This will be a great "tutorial" if you will for attaining my dream. Thanks to you as well Redargon. I can see a lot of pertinent information coming from you being that you're in the field already. My plan is to stick to the non-defense/ space side of things as well. Good luck to you AeroAstroNut. I look forward to reading your blog in a moment. Which school are you/did you attend and for which degrees? ( I will probably find out in the blog, just curious) Thanks.

Joe

 

[AeroAstroNut]

Which school are you/did you attend and for which degrees? ( I will probably find out in the blog, just curious) Thanks.

Thanks for all the kind words :)

I am going to the University of Michigan for Aerospace Engineering and going to do their 1 year add-on to get the Masters in Aero. This is the goal for now.

I'm glad to here that there's more people interested in AE and Mechanical.
I'm also really interested in the Electrical Engineering side of Aero too, such as solar sail technology.

 

[aerospaceut10]

Aerospace Holla.

 

[AeroAstroNut]

Just posted an article on my take of the future of Aerospace, it's a little comical, hope you enjoy it.

http://aeroastronut.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/aerospace-engineers-will-always-have-jobs/"

 

[DanielT29]

Hey, I'm currently working on my aerospace degree at an university in Canada. I was wondering if it's better to get a masters in business management after, since I hear management is where the money is or should I pursue a masters in aerospace itself or physics. I want to design air/space crafts and work on new technology that would advance our current day air/space crafts. At the same time, I would need to pay off my masters degree/undergrad degree off, so I would need a good pay. What do you think? Is it possible for a researcher to get paid more than a person on the management level, and I'm not familiar with the industry but can a supervisor(management level) still help in the research? Thanks.

 

[AeroAstroNut]

I probably need some help from Redargon or other Aero Engineers on your question, but I would say that it would be better for you to get a Master's in Aerospace or Mechanical vs. getting a master's in another field. I say this because a Bachelors in Aerospace doesn't do much, until you get that Masters degree. If you look on job boards for project managers in the IT business, companies are often looking for software programmers with a lot of experience 10+ years for a senior project leader, for example. These people, through their seniority and experience are able to confidently manage a team to do a certain job.

On the other hand, if you're the boss, well you're the boss, and you get to make lots of decisions, but I would assume that your main engineers would still be the ones doing the "fun" stuff.

I'm going to go the Masters and possibly Ph.D route in Aero, then when I get the experience and achievements under my wing, hopefully then I will be able to manage a team that I would lead to develop technology.

 

[redargon]

I have a BScEng(Aero) and I have not had trouble getting jobs, but it depends where you want to go. The jobs I have had are not in the aerospace industry per sé. i have heard that it is easier with a masters. We covered basic business management as a course at university for BScEng. We also worked a lot in teams. This kind of work gives you a taste for teamwork and management. If you can prove that you are a team player or leader in a job interview by reflecting back on team work acheivements in varsity, it will go a long way to showing a potential employer if you have what it takes. You don't need a masters in business man for that. It also depends on your personality. I led a lot of my team work projects in varsity and have also had projects where I now work where I was appointed project manager. I must admit, I prefer engineering than management, but it has its upsides too. P.S. I get paid the same if I am a project manager or a system engineer. The difference will only be noticeable in a few years from now when you start to get paid more for your experience in a particular field. In the beginning, everyone kind of starts off the same.

I would go for the masters that you feel passionately about. As I've said a hundred times before, don't worry about how much you think you're going to get paid. If you're a qualified engineer and get a decent job (the worse jobs are usually actually paid better, like petro chem engineer in Dubai working 6 days a week) you won't have to worry about money, unless you think that a job will make you rich... it won't.

 

[DanielT29]

Hm, thanks for the good advice. I guess I will do my masters in what I like. My university does give us some basics on business as well, such as economics. For my masters I was thinking of doing one in aerospace engineering but more into the the engineering physics aspect, and doing research in fusion energy. Do you know any good companies that are hiring aerospace engineers that are willing to find new forms of energy to help run air/land/sea vehicles in Canada?

P.S. AeroAstroNut I visited your site, I wanted to contact you since you liked the idea of antimatter used to power air/space crafts, I wanted to know which university would teach that. Thanks.

 

[Theelectricchild]

AeroAstroNut, I seem to be having difficulty accessing your blog. Is anyone else having the same issue? I receive: "The authors have deleted this blog. The content is no longer available."