Aerospace engineering non-conventional applications

[rfranceschetti]

Hello guys,

I'd like to know what non-conventional areas (i.e., not related to the airspace, aircrafts, satellites, etc) an aerospace engineer could work in. I've read somewhere that some aerospace engineers work with high-performance cars aerodynamics. Do you guys know something similar?

Thanks.

P.S.: I wasn't sure if I should post this in the General Engineering section or in the MechE section. I chose the former since AerospaceE doesn't comprehend only mechanical aspects.

 

[boneh3ad]

Aerospace engineers learn a lot of the same (in fact, nearly all of the same) concepts as mechanical engineers, so it's likely that most fields containing mechanical engineers will have at least some aerospace engineers working in the same field. Car aerodynamics and wind turbine aerodynamics would be two big areas where you will find a lot of aerospace engineers. I know quite a few that went to work for oil companies as well. Any field that would require control systems is a popular one, such as robotics.

 

[rfranceschetti]

Aerospace engineers also learn a lot of avionics. Do you think these professionals have sufficient knowledge to work with embedded systems in equipments other than aircrafts?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[boneh3ad]

Sure.

 

[rfranceschetti]

Thanks, nice to hear. But practically speaking, they do indeed get hired to do this kind of work? Or it's an exception? Because I have the feeling that the industry would prefere to hire electrical engineers to do the electronics, and MechE to do the mechanical part.

 

[boneh3ad]

It really depends on what sort of experience each person has. If your background is a BS in the subject, then it will likely be harder to jump across "engineering lines" because your set of experiences is going to be more general to your undergraduate degree. Once you start getting to the graduate level, your experience is going to be more specific to certain types of controls or fluids or materials or whatever else, and then you will be more competitive for jobs that are looking for people to come apply those sets of skills, regardless of the final product being designed.

Also, the automotive industry, for example, hires a lot of aerospace engineers with just a BS. The air flow over a car, for example, is so similar to that of a plane that the training in a typical aerospace program is very relevant. In other words, my above paragraph is not a universal rule, just a rough (over)generalization.

 

[rfranceschetti]

I understand. I read in other posts that you're an aerospace engineer yourself. Could you please tell me a bit of your experience in the industry, the projects you've worked with, in what did you specialize, etc, if that's not too much work? Would you do it again?