- #1
Falcon9
- 5
- 0
Hello all,
I'm currently a Sophomore double majoring in Math and Physics & Astronomy, but I'm considering going into Engineering. I really love my current majors, but I'm doubtful of my future career opportunities with them.
I'd eventually like to end up doing work related to studying/exploring space. Astronomy seems perilously difficult to break into, and while the private space industry is still small, it certainly has a lot of potential to grow.
I really did not understand how difficult it would be to find jobs when I picked my majors. High school had put me under the impression that any STEM major would be fairly safe as far as landing jobs (well-paying jobs at that). But clearly that's not the case, and now I'm quite concerned that I'm going to be stuck without many job prospects, scientific or otherwise.
Engineering seems like the best way to get around this, but I very much want to finish my current degrees, and it would be demoralizing to give up Math/P&A at this point and end up doing undergrad work for an extra year or more to catch up. Also, my current school has very little in the way of an engineering reputation, which could perhaps hurt my job prospects (especially with companies working on space exploration).
So this leads me to consider waiting until grad school to get an engineering degree (either mechanical or aerospace). From what I can find online, making this switch is fairly common, but engineers with a Master's but not a B.S. are considered less qualified than those with a B.S. and no Master's.
I'm utterly lost as to what I should do. Would companies like SpaceX, Boeing, and even non-space related companies care if I did not have an engineering B.S? For that matter, how many grad programs are likely to refuse accepting me for the same reason? If I need to switch majors now, should I also look to transfer to a more prestigious engineering school (there's a very highly rated public engineering school in my state)?
Sorry this was so long, but I could really use some help. I just feel so stuck.
I'm currently a Sophomore double majoring in Math and Physics & Astronomy, but I'm considering going into Engineering. I really love my current majors, but I'm doubtful of my future career opportunities with them.
I'd eventually like to end up doing work related to studying/exploring space. Astronomy seems perilously difficult to break into, and while the private space industry is still small, it certainly has a lot of potential to grow.
I really did not understand how difficult it would be to find jobs when I picked my majors. High school had put me under the impression that any STEM major would be fairly safe as far as landing jobs (well-paying jobs at that). But clearly that's not the case, and now I'm quite concerned that I'm going to be stuck without many job prospects, scientific or otherwise.
Engineering seems like the best way to get around this, but I very much want to finish my current degrees, and it would be demoralizing to give up Math/P&A at this point and end up doing undergrad work for an extra year or more to catch up. Also, my current school has very little in the way of an engineering reputation, which could perhaps hurt my job prospects (especially with companies working on space exploration).
So this leads me to consider waiting until grad school to get an engineering degree (either mechanical or aerospace). From what I can find online, making this switch is fairly common, but engineers with a Master's but not a B.S. are considered less qualified than those with a B.S. and no Master's.
I'm utterly lost as to what I should do. Would companies like SpaceX, Boeing, and even non-space related companies care if I did not have an engineering B.S? For that matter, how many grad programs are likely to refuse accepting me for the same reason? If I need to switch majors now, should I also look to transfer to a more prestigious engineering school (there's a very highly rated public engineering school in my state)?
Sorry this was so long, but I could really use some help. I just feel so stuck.