What are the most common career paths for members of PF?

[Pyrrhus]

Whoa, all you are aiming really high or have a lot of degrees. I think after i get my BSc Civil Engineering, i will go for a M Eng or MSc. So far i am leaning to Structural Engineering, but i am not really sure, i liked Hydraulics and Geotechnical, too. No idea. Maybe two or three Masters .

 

[goavs4]

I'm an aerospace engineer with a B.S. and M.S. , emphasis in astronautical engineering. I work in my field in various areas, primarily with software simulations involving robotics and also guidance, navigation and control systems for space vehicles. I have also some experience in hardware systems involving robotics and hadrware/software integration with avionics systems used for GN&C. I've thought about going for my PhD however I am far enough along into my career that I think I just might hold off on that for awhile. I currently work for a company that contracts to the government.

 

[BobG]

I work as an orbital analyst, primarily responsible for training any new orbital analysts we get (a degree in Astrodynamics is good, but just about any math or physics based degree works; its an operations job, not a design job - plus, hiring people with more general degrees is cheaper and makes my job a little more secure). I've had some type of job working with satellites for over 20 years, with a lot of experience designing training programs for satellite systems.

I'm slowly working my way towards an Electrical Engineering degree a couple classes at a time. The EE classes mainly provide something hard and time consuming, but a EE degree with security clearances could wind up paying surprisingly well.

 

[Anttech]

Telecoms and Network Engineer. And I didnt learn jack from University that was applicable to my current job or life in general. I am certified to the hilt by Industry leaders (Avaya Cisco Microsoft) learning and preparing for these exams were more helpful in allowing me to progress my technical skills than any degree would have including Bsc ICT. I was looking at doing a Msc in ICT or a related field, but there wasnt anything on the curriculem that I hadnt already had experience with and I felt it would have been a waste of time. The dissertation did seem interesting tho, basically hacking up an RFC routing protocol and attempting to make a better one, which would have been very interesting.

Perhaps I will reevalulate this at a later date and do a Msc, but we will see. I have never understood why Universities won't give better ICT (Information and communication technology) courses that are actually applicable to current technologies and ideals. Maybe one of the problems is that the technology is changing so much they can't keep up..

 

[rocketboy]

In september will be a student in Engineering Science at UofToronto. In my 3rd year I plan on specializing in Aerospace.

In the future, I hope to work for NASA, whether as an engineer or as my ultimate ambition... an astronaut. (hence the name rocketboy )

 

[rocketboy]

I'm an aerospace engineer with a B.S. and M.S. , emphasis in astronautical engineering. I work in my field in various areas, primarily with software simulations involving robotics and also guidance, navigation and control systems for space vehicles. I have also some experience in hardware systems involving robotics and hadrware/software integration with avionics systems used for GN&C. I've thought about going for my PhD however I am far enough along into my career that I think I just might hold off on that for awhile. I currently work for a company that contracts to the government.

What kind of work do you do for the company? What kind of projects are you working on? I'm interested because Aerospace is what I plan to specialize in.

 

[goavs4]

What kind of work do you do for the company? What kind of projects are you working on? I'm interested because Aerospace is what I plan to specialize in.

I work on software simulations (analysis and flight software) used across the community at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. These simulations are used for analysis, requirements definitions, hardware/software/avionics integration, mission planning, hardware-in-the-loop/pilot-in-the-loop integration and crew training, mission operations, pretty much the broad spectrum of engineering design, analysis and planning. I've worked on various projects in the past all over the center spanning robotics and aeroscience and flight mechanics disciplines. Currently I am involved in the next big push: Exploration. I am part of the CEV flight dynamics team working from the NASA side of things to develop detailed simulations for requirements analysis (and later literally spanning all phases and aspects of flight including flight software testing and eventually integrated hardware/vehicle in the loop testing) for the CEV vehicle consisting of the CM, SM, and LAS. We will be evaluating, providing instruction to, and defining requirements for the prime contractor once one has been selected to build the vehicles concerning the GN&C and related systems. We also incorporate CLV (Crew Launch Vehicle) models and dynamics into our sims. Although we are not the home center for CLV, obviously as flight dynamics we are involved in whole vehicle modeling including outer mold lines, aerodynamic data, separation effects, etc... etc... In fact I am in the process right now of hiring on with NASA at JSC so this new work will be my only work for the foreseeable future. It's my dream job (short of actually becoming an astronaut), the reason I went to school and got these fancy schmancy degrees, and of course with the outline of the plan right now I would like nothing better than to look back in 2025 I know I was one of those that has helped put a man on Mars. Like I said my background is an M.S. in aerospace. I did not do a thesis, but worked in a special dual-degree program that allowed me to do a non-thesis program but also start work on a masters as an undergraduate. My masters emphasis was where you would expect, astrodynamics, and I also worked on external projects that involved robotics for space applications and small satellite design. So it sounds like I am now doing what you will want to be working on in a few years once you graduate. Are you a US citizen? If so, my first order of advice is if you want to work for NASA straight out of school, especially if you eventually want to apply for astronaut selection, try to get into the JSC co-op program. It might mean some extra time in school but the opportunities it affords are worth it. I was not a co-op but it's the A#1 way to get in good with NASA and to be known even BEFORE you hit the starting gate. http://coop.jsc.nasa.gov/index.html Again, you have to be a US citizen to be a co-op due to government restrictions.

 

[Ronnin]

I see that there arn't that may Business majors amongst this fine cround. I feel left out here.