What extra classes should I take for my Aerospace Engineering major?

[MotoH]

Hi, I have a few questions about Aerospace Engineering that I was told could be answered by some very knowledgeable folks. Well here they are!


Are the classes needed for aerospace homework based, as in a lot of busy work, or are they more towards the learning aspect of things with various work and nothing over powering? I am sure that it differs from school to school, but a general idea would be nice if you could offer one.

I plan on attending the University of Minnesota. Do you know anything about their program at all?

I also plan on doing either Army ROTC and becoming an AH-64 Apache pilot, or Air Force ROTC and going for a multi-role fighter pilot. From your knowledge would these extra classes interfere with my class schedule in any way?
I will have almost all of the pre-requisites done by the time I graduate high school (I am going to a community college under the PSEO student enrollment).

What are the extra classes that I should take that would supplement my major? I plan on taking math all four years, but are there any other classes I should be aware of?


Thank you!
Moto

 

[FredGarvin]

No offense, but a lesson in reality is the first stop. I know you are in high school or community college but you need to really start thinking right. Besides, I thought all you had to do is make a phone call and you were in the Air Force Academy...what happened with that?

In all engineering majors you work your butt off. Every school, period. There is no way around it. If you think that it looks like a good major but don't want to really be an engineer, you will not survive. If you think you will have extra time you are fooling yourself. You will be overwhelmed to the point where you have to learn time management.

Supplementing your major outside of the preset requisites is not really something you need or will be able to do. You will have some elective classes that are mandatory to round out your credit requirements. Those are the classes that you can decide what to take to meet your own desires (if they are available the semester you want to take them, if you can get into them, etc...).

Also, you need to acquaint yourself with a very important phrase when it comes to military jobs, especially in aviation; "Needs of the government." You do not pick where you go. Sometimes you may get that chance, but most of the time not. You apply to get into OCS and then your general job area, i.e. Army Aviator, Naval Aviator, etc...You do not get to pick where you go from there. I know plenty of people that have gone through and found their entire graduating class gets classified for one type of aircraft. No one got to pick. Needs of the government at work. Understand that the odds are NOT in your favor for getting the slots you mentioned. There are just too many people fighting for so very few slots.

If you really are this close to enrolling in an engineering program and then the military, it is time to grow up a bit and look at things with a responsible attitude and not through rose colored glasses. If you don't, you are not going to end up where you want to.

 

[Brian_C]

Getting an AE degree ain't easy. I've been working on homework pretty much all day, and I'm still not done with all of it. I have to get up at 7:30 tomorrow and sit through four hours of classes. This is not my idea of fun.

 

[MotoH]

Thank you for answering Mr. Garvin!

Getting an AE degree ain't easy. I've been working on homework pretty much all day, and I'm still not done with all of it. I have to get up at 7:30 tomorrow and sit through four hours of classes. This is not my idea of fun.

Do you find that it will all be worth it in the end?

 

[Cyrus]

Hey Moto,

First, I would loose the notion that you will fly an apache, or a "multi-role fighter", and simply say you'll be lucky if you get a slot in any aircraft. You don't know if you will make it through pilot school yet, and if you do, what airplane they will assign you.

But, I would highly recommend that you get an engineering degree in aerospace engineering. Not only will you understand the fundamentals of piloting, you will develop analytic thinking skills that you can use in other areas of life.

Going the military route is a very good choice, and if you smart and good, you can have a nice career once you get out. Personally, I wouldn't leave the military and try to fly school buses, er, I mean civil transport airplanes. Instead, I would try and find work as a project manger in a major aerospace firm. A lot of military guys do this, and I think its putting your engineering degree and piloting experience to better use.

 

[Brian_C]

The USAF has very strict medical requirements for pilots. Relatively minor conditions such as migraine headaches can be disqualifying.

More information:
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforce/l/blflymenu.htm

 

[Doug Huffman]

I was USN enlisted nuclear power. Simple calculus had to be so 'easy', second nature, that we could stand at a blackboard and demonstrate limited aspects of it to qual boards. That took lots of out of class study and repetition. Thirty years later I aced my third semester calculus from an ex-Moscow University department head and with an atta boy.

 

[Cyrus]

I was USN enlisted nuclear power. Simple calculus had to be so 'easy', second nature, that we could stand at a blackboard and demonstrate limited aspects of it to qual boards. That took lots of out of class study and repetition. Thirty years later I aced my third semester calculus from an ex-Moscow University department head and with an atta boy.

Could you blame the poor man, he was probably worried about you launching a strike on his house if he didn't!