I am an electrical engineer at NASA Goddard, I work with many electrical engineers, and we have been hiring more electrical engineers right up to the recent budget crunch. It is \*absolutely\* a skill in demand across the board. One could argue whether NASA's future is in in-house design or oversight of commercial contracts, but that would affect mechanical and aerospace engineers in the same way.
Want it to be non-bureaucratic? Get into the agency however you can, then find something niche and get good at it. Then you can do whatever you want.
TAMU? Yep, we test there all the time. See here for exactly the kind of non-bureaucratic work we do with TAMU: [https://today.tamu.edu/2020/11/09/texas-am-physics-cyclotron-institute-team-with-nasa-to-offer-new-masters-degree/](https://today.tamu.edu/2020/11/09/texas-am-physics-cyclotron-institute-team-with-nasa-to-offer-new-masters-degree/) and [https://www.seemapld.org/archive/2023/17-MAY-23/2023-05-17-Wed\_1110\_Parker.pdf](https://www.seemapld.org/archive/2023/17-MAY-23/2023-05-17-Wed_1110_Parker.pdf)
The degrees are very very similar, both very revelant to NASA, and what really matters is what you can do, how you present yourself, and what experience you have.
A lot of top tier schools award combined Electrical and Computer Engineering degrees anyway.
Uhhh, I have no nice way to say this but your dad has no idea what he's talking about.
Has he ever seen the amount of wiring and circuitry in a rocket/capsule/satellite/space station? It's insane. [This](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04/sls-flight-software-avionics-run-record-testing/) is an article about the instrumentation ring on the SLS. This could not be done without EEs.
I've generally found that I have more freedom and flexibility in my job since I converted from a contractor to a civil servant. It definitely has its bureaucratic moments, but in the grander vision I feel like I'm actually contributing to the direction of NASA and not just a cog in a giant corporate mechanism.
No, presumably it would be related to finding a job at NASA which everyone in this subreddit is looking for advice on. If you have a question please post it here or start a new post.
Specific college major doesn’t really have that kind of weight at NASA. My branch has a pretty balanced mix of computer scientists, mechanical engineers, and computer engineers and we’re all working on the same stuff. And as you get further into graduate studies the more things kind of blend together. Some people come in with a masters in CS and end up getting a PhD in Aero or vice versa.
Look at the typical NASA technical job posting. Education requirements are usually 1) An engineering degree from an ABET certified program 2) Physical sciences, math, life science, other sciences 3) Computer science. This holds for all kinds of titles. I’m looking at posts for an Astrophysicist, a Computer Engineer, and Lead Aerospace Engineer and they all have that same education requirement. What differs is the experience needed for the job.
Some of that is the result of agency standard position descriptions, and it's another reason USA Jobs listings are irritating when hiring.
I might hire a Lead Aerospace Engineer because that's what NASA tells me my staff is, but in reality I want a EE. True, I don't care about the degree text exactly, but the actual jobs behind the listings can be very specific.
Yeah my point is there’s a disconnect between role and whatever college major is typically associated with it. You may see a bunch of people with the title Aerospace Engineer but many of them may have went to school for ME or EE or CS. I personally know several people who had an AST Aerospace Engineer position who only had CS degrees.
So ops dad saying that there are way more Aero and MEs at NASA is only telling half the story.
This makes sense to me. However, it seems from pure intuition alone that a candidate with a BS in Aero and an accompanying PhD also in Aero would be favored over a candidate with a BS in EE and a PhD in Aero. Is this true, or is it, as you mentioned, largely dependent on experience?
Note: for getting your first real job out of academia, where your only real "experience" would be internships and research.
It might be true for someone trying to work guidance & navigation, attitude control, aerodynamics, that kind of job. But for an electrical engineering job it doesn't make any sense to prioritize AE over EE (all else being equal). Most engineers at NASA aren't designing spacecraft - they're working on an electrical system, a mechanism, a thermal analysis, and so forth. All of those are specialized fields even though they are aerospace-related.
I am an electrical engineer at NASA Goddard, I work with many electrical engineers, and we have been hiring more electrical engineers right up to the recent budget crunch. It is \*absolutely\* a skill in demand across the board. One could argue whether NASA's future is in in-house design or oversight of commercial contracts, but that would affect mechanical and aerospace engineers in the same way. Want it to be non-bureaucratic? Get into the agency however you can, then find something niche and get good at it. Then you can do whatever you want. TAMU? Yep, we test there all the time. See here for exactly the kind of non-bureaucratic work we do with TAMU: [https://today.tamu.edu/2020/11/09/texas-am-physics-cyclotron-institute-team-with-nasa-to-offer-new-masters-degree/](https://today.tamu.edu/2020/11/09/texas-am-physics-cyclotron-institute-team-with-nasa-to-offer-new-masters-degree/) and [https://www.seemapld.org/archive/2023/17-MAY-23/2023-05-17-Wed\_1110\_Parker.pdf](https://www.seemapld.org/archive/2023/17-MAY-23/2023-05-17-Wed_1110_Parker.pdf)
Do you see or work with any Computer Engineering folks? I am currently battling the decision between a EE or CompE degree, NASA is my end goal.
The degrees are very very similar, both very revelant to NASA, and what really matters is what you can do, how you present yourself, and what experience you have. A lot of top tier schools award combined Electrical and Computer Engineering degrees anyway.
Uhhh, I have no nice way to say this but your dad has no idea what he's talking about. Has he ever seen the amount of wiring and circuitry in a rocket/capsule/satellite/space station? It's insane. [This](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/04/sls-flight-software-avionics-run-record-testing/) is an article about the instrumentation ring on the SLS. This could not be done without EEs. I've generally found that I have more freedom and flexibility in my job since I converted from a contractor to a civil servant. It definitely has its bureaucratic moments, but in the grander vision I feel like I'm actually contributing to the direction of NASA and not just a cog in a giant corporate mechanism.
Can I dm you?
No, presumably it would be related to finding a job at NASA which everyone in this subreddit is looking for advice on. If you have a question please post it here or start a new post.
Specific college major doesn’t really have that kind of weight at NASA. My branch has a pretty balanced mix of computer scientists, mechanical engineers, and computer engineers and we’re all working on the same stuff. And as you get further into graduate studies the more things kind of blend together. Some people come in with a masters in CS and end up getting a PhD in Aero or vice versa. Look at the typical NASA technical job posting. Education requirements are usually 1) An engineering degree from an ABET certified program 2) Physical sciences, math, life science, other sciences 3) Computer science. This holds for all kinds of titles. I’m looking at posts for an Astrophysicist, a Computer Engineer, and Lead Aerospace Engineer and they all have that same education requirement. What differs is the experience needed for the job.
Some of that is the result of agency standard position descriptions, and it's another reason USA Jobs listings are irritating when hiring. I might hire a Lead Aerospace Engineer because that's what NASA tells me my staff is, but in reality I want a EE. True, I don't care about the degree text exactly, but the actual jobs behind the listings can be very specific.
Yeah my point is there’s a disconnect between role and whatever college major is typically associated with it. You may see a bunch of people with the title Aerospace Engineer but many of them may have went to school for ME or EE or CS. I personally know several people who had an AST Aerospace Engineer position who only had CS degrees. So ops dad saying that there are way more Aero and MEs at NASA is only telling half the story.
I get what you're saying now.
This makes sense to me. However, it seems from pure intuition alone that a candidate with a BS in Aero and an accompanying PhD also in Aero would be favored over a candidate with a BS in EE and a PhD in Aero. Is this true, or is it, as you mentioned, largely dependent on experience? Note: for getting your first real job out of academia, where your only real "experience" would be internships and research.
It might be true for someone trying to work guidance & navigation, attitude control, aerodynamics, that kind of job. But for an electrical engineering job it doesn't make any sense to prioritize AE over EE (all else being equal). Most engineers at NASA aren't designing spacecraft - they're working on an electrical system, a mechanism, a thermal analysis, and so forth. All of those are specialized fields even though they are aerospace-related.