Stuck Between Aerospace engineering and Computer Engineering

[Michael Saxer]

Hello, I am stuck between two majors to study in college, Computer Engineering and Aerospace Engineering.

About me: I am going to be a senior next year and I am going to be taking high level ap calculus and ap physics. I am a very creative person and am very good at the arts and industrial design. I also take advanced computer science classes, which are more or less a joke at my high school. I love working on group projects that I am passionate about.

Aerospace Engineering: I've been fascinated with aircrafts and space ships ever since I was a kid. I would always stare at planes as they take off (I live near an airport). I build and fly model RC planes as a hobby and I am rather good at it. I understand the properties of lift and drag that the model and the scale planes share with their full sized brothers. If I chose this major, I will be focusing on the aeronautical side of it as I am more interested in planes and helicopters than spaceships. Ever since freshman science, I have had a HUGE fascination with flying and space. Its so cool and I would love to be a part of it. I would love to work for a company to design and develop/test aircrafts, hands-on work.

Computer Engineering: this is the choice that most of my family wants me to go down because of how wide the the job market is. I love computers, at least the hardware side of it. Don't get me wrong, I love sitting and writing code just as much as the next guy, but I'd rather be working on and designing on hardware such as micro-processors and graphics cards. I also have a good background with computers. I build my first computer when I was 13 and I continue to work on it and upgrade that same build. I love learning how a computer works and making mine better.

Please share your insight with me as I am dead stuck between these two high paying majors.

 

[axmls]

At first glance, it looked like you would've preferred aerospace, since you began computer engineering with what your family wants as opposed to what you want.

Aerospace is sort of a subset of mechanical engineering, whereas computer is sort of a subset of electrical engineering. There will be overlap, therefore, with aerospace and mechanical and with computer and electrical. That may help you get some insight into which you'd prefer more.

Also, look up curricula for both programs at schools you'd like to attend. See which ones have classes that seem more interesting to you, and which ones have classes that seem dreadful to you.

 

[donpacino]

Like axmls said, it sounds like you would be more interested in aerospace engineering. Pursue what you like, you can make good money in either field

 

[heatengine516]

Aircraft these days depend heavily on computer systems probably designed by computer engineers and possibly computer scientists. That's where you'll find your biggest overlap. So potentially you could find yourself employed in the aerospace field at some point with the computer engineering degree. Curriculum-wise the two programs are like night and day, however.