Mechanical or Aerospace engineering?

[tracydimarco]

Astronauts go into space, not Aerospace engineers.
In the past, they were test/experimental pilots for the military. Now it is a mix of scientists/engineers/pilots.

It depends on what you're going to do with you aerospace engineering degree -it can go either commercial or government work. The one problem I see with the government work (well, what I hear from a close friend who has an aero degree & is working for a company that does major US military contracts) is that 1. it's frustrating working with the government because they're so inefficient, 2. it doesn't allow a lot of room for creativity (the government tells you what they want & just wants you to do it as cheaply as possible), & 3. a lot of the 'higher ups' are ex-military, because they know the system or have connections, and it's very hard to break through those ranks ... so job mobility in some areas may be limited. All in all, though, he does enjoy his job when he's placed on projects that meet his interest. So I guess if you put in your time doing the boring/grunt work (like at any job), you'll eventually be able to prove yourself capable enough to take on the 'fun' work.
As someone with a pilot's license, I sometimes wish I had gone aero...

 

[tracydimarco]

You could always join a pop band, make a load of money, and hitch a ride with the Russians

Only if it's a boy band...
Although poor Lance never made it into space, even after all he had to go through - spend tons of money, have elective heart surgery, have intense training, etc...

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Only if it's a boy band...
Although poor Lance never made it into space, even after all he had to go through - spend tons of money, have elective heart surgery, have intense training, etc...

Fortunately that post was made more than 4 years ago. These days we are living in the future and everyone can go to space on a whim.

 

[tracydimarco]

Fortunately that post was made more than 4 years ago. These days we are living in the future and everyone can go to space on a whim.

On a whim - if you have several millions to spend!