Shifting from aircraft maintenance to designing, is it possible?

AI Thread Summary
Transitioning from an aircraft maintenance engineer or technician to a designer role, such as a thermodynamicist or aerodynamicist, is possible but involves distinct educational pathways. While hands-on experience as a technician is beneficial, pursuing a career in design typically requires a formal degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering rather than an extension of maintenance training. Advanced mathematics, including partial differential equations and linear algebra, is essential for success in these engineering fields. Familiarity with basic calculus is recommended before entering an engineering degree program to avoid being hindered by math prerequisites. Overall, while the two fields are quite different, a technician can successfully switch paths with the right education and preparation.
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is it possible to progress from being aircraft maintenace engineer or technician to become a designer like thermodynamicist, propulsion, aerodynamicist, systems engineer ...etc? i mean is there such a further study courses that will upgrade the maintenance engineer/technician to a professional engineer or they are two separate paths?
 
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Sure u can. Although no two courses or profession are the same.however, since you are trained technician, you can step up a become a pro-aerodynamics engineer.I must warn,if you maths phobia,its time you get used to it cause there will lots & lots of advance calculations with high degree of precision required.
 
I would shy away from the word "upgrade"... design work would probably require a straight mechanical and aerospace engineering degree rather than anything that could be considered an extension of maintenance engineer/technician training.

That said, I see no reason why you couldn't be very successful in switching paths. I would think that having hands-on experience would be a definite plus in all respects.
 
oraclelive said:
Sure u can. Although no two courses or profession are the same.however, since you are trained technician, you can step up a become a pro-aerodynamics engineer.I must warn,if you maths phobia,its time you get used to it cause there will lots & lots of advance calculations with high degree of precision required.

thanks
 
TMFKAN64 said:
I would shy away from the word "upgrade"... design work would probably require a straight mechanical and aerospace engineering degree rather than anything that could be considered an extension of maintenance engineer/technician training.

That said, I see no reason why you couldn't be very successful in switching paths. I would think that having hands-on experience would be a definite plus in all respects.

thanks for the reply, that's exactly what i was trying to express by saying "upgrade", is there a choice for an "extension" study based on your maintenace certificate that will enable you to get into designing?but it seems to be two separate ways and you have to start from the beining of an aerospace batchelor degree.
 
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The two fields are pretty disparate. Your current knowledge will be useful, especially if you have to interface with people who actually build your designs (which you almost certainly will); however, don't expect it to be very useful in your engineering courses, except for familiarity with certain aircraft terms.

That said, go for it. It's never too late. Just be aware that as an aerospace engineer you will have to be comfortable with partial differential equations, linear algebra, and other advanced mathematics. You'll learn this as part of the degree, but you should at least have a familiarity with basic calculus when you enter the degree program, otherwise you will be held back by prerequisites regarding math.
 
Angry Citizen said:
The two fields are pretty disparate. Your current knowledge will be useful, especially if you have to interface with people who actually build your designs (which you almost certainly will); however, don't expect it to be very useful in your engineering courses, except for familiarity with certain aircraft terms.

That said, go for it. It's never too late. Just be aware that as an aerospace engineer you will have to be comfortable with partial differential equations, linear algebra, and other advanced mathematics. You'll learn this as part of the degree, but you should at least have a familiarity with basic calculus when you enter the degree program, otherwise you will be held back by prerequisites regarding math.

thanks
 

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