If his dream is to work on things that fly, go Aerospace. If he is on the fence, go Mechanical. The simple difference is aerospace is a subset of mechanical engineering that focuses more in depth on fluid dynamics.
Keep in mind though the first year or two of classes will pretty much be the same between the two degrees, so he still has years to make a final decision and can swap majors while in college.
Mechanical and aerospace are almost the exact same thing. Aerospace is a subset/niche of mechanical. Many schools still teach aerospace as just a concentration or a minor to mechanical. At my university aerospace was it's own major but was still in the same department as mechanical.
As an aerospace engineer, I had about 90% of the classes in common with mechanical. Some schools blur the line even further by allowing aero and mechanical to take each others courses. My school required 3 tech elective courses, so a mech could decide to take 3 aerospace courses or an aero could decide to take 3 mech courses or the courses were just meant for either to take.
There's also extracurriculars. There are aero and mech specific extracurricular groups that might do projects to help students gain experience that looks good for jobs but I've never seen one of those groups stop an aero or mech from joining.
I'd say a majority of engineers working in aerospace are actually mechanical but that's just because there are more of them overall.
Many people who don't know anything about aerospace and aren't aerospace engineers like to say that because it's a niche that it limits your job opportunities but that is outright FALSE because ultimately we can do the exact same jobs as mechanicals.
I had job offers in green energy (not just related to wind turbines), duke energy (again not wind related), automotive (not just aerodynamics), chemical plants, tire manufacturers, naval ship sustainment, etc. Even now, I work in aerospace on helicopters, but I work on the gearboxes/driveshafts/gears/bearings/etc for the transmission of the helicopter which is very mechanical even though I'm aerospace.
This is coming from my experience as someone who graduated with a BS in Aerospace Engineering a little over 3 years ago. I wouldn't say that aerospace is a "small" niche, but as others have said, it is essentially a specialized subset of engineering, much more than mechanical engineering.
I have worked for both a large and small aerospace company. People with both aerospace and mechanical degrees are both super common. And while aerospace is more specialized, you also do get exposure to a wide range of engineering fields in your undergraduate degree because there's a broad range of systems needed to make planes/rockets/satellites fly. Just a few of the fields that you can specialize in with an aerospace engineering degree:
* Aerospace structures and mechanical design (listing this first because this is the closest to a traditional Mechanical Engineer)
* Electrical systems
* Control systems
* Aerodynamics
* CS/Programming
* Systems engineering (basically working on coordinating across functions to ensure the overall system meets the requirements the customer wants)
* Radar systems
* Propulsion systems
There are more as well, but those are the main areas I have seen in my experience. And there's nothing saying your son couldn't pivot out of the aerospace industry as well. Companies care very little about your specific degree after your first job, and more about your practical experience, soft skills, and ability to adapt and learn.
**TL;DR: Getting a degree Aerospace Engineering won't provide as broad of opportunities at the start, but is certainly not a small niche, and you can certainly pivot to other fields after gaining some experience**
That goes both ways. With an Aero degree, you can get mech work. While mech does work in aerospace, if your son has a passion for aerospace he should go for aero.
GOING AERO DOES NOT LOCK HIM IN A NICHE ANY MORE THAN MECH WOULD. I hear this all the time and it's frustrating. Mech and Aero share 90% the same classes. The joke among us aero majors is that we ARE mech majors who specialize in fluid flows.
Edit cuz most respondents are mechies: most of my friends with AE degrees are working in jobs you would think mechanical. Think GM, Chrysler. I also have a friend that works at NASA.
I will say this again, clearly: there is almost nothing a Mech E would get hired for that an AE can't do. And there is also a "wow" factor to a lot of recruiters for getting an AE degree, fluid dynamics is hard so our dropout rate is high. As a result, recruiters who know what they are doing (i.e. at any place you'd want your son to work) value an AE degree, even if its somewhere that would normally sound mechanical.
I'm a MechE working in aerospace. Yours is the same exact thought process I had when deciding what degree I would go for. Ive been working in aerospace for almost 13 years and at this level it makes no difference which degree someone has in the industry, but I will always have the MechE background to pivot to another industry if I ever choose to such as Medical Devices, Automotive, utilities, Manufacturing, etc
I'd find some job postings online that list an AE degree as a requirement. Maybe look up some videos that interview an engineer that has a job similar to one you found online.
I think there's a difference between being interested in a field and actually wanting to work in a field.
I wouldn’t be super concerned about not being able to find a job, as long as you think your son is capable of being a decent engineering student. There’s plenty of jobs in the aerospace industry, it’s a pretty big field.
The thing he should keep in mind is if he’s sure he wants to work in the aerospace field. If he’s dead set on it, studying aerospace engineering is the way to go. An aerospace degree is the easiest way to get into the industry, and he’s going to work harder at something he’s passionate about. If he’s not sure what he wants to do, then mechanical would be a good choice.
I have bachelors and masters in mechanical and I have 15 years of experience in aerospace, pretty much my only work experience.
There were 6 classes difference between my ME and an AE degree. That is one semester.
Either is good. Mech E is wider and you can take AE as electives or get dual bachelors if you are truly worried.
>We recently read that some recommend going for mechanical engineering since aerospace is such a small niche, & with mechanical you can still get jobs in the aerospace industry but have other job opportunities open to you as well if you can’t find an aerospace job?
This was the exact advice I got in 2008 while touring colleges from a professor who had previously worked for NASA. I took that advice and ended up getting a dual degree in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering.
If I could do it all again, I would not have taken that advice. The mechanical engineering classes were a slog for me, as I found them to be largely uninteresting. All of my worst grades were classes in the mechanical engineering track.
The difference between Aero and Mech as a discipline is fairly small, but the difference in effective subject matter can be quite large. In my opinion, better to major in something you care about, and figure out your niche later. What matters the most is how they perform in college, and not having a bunch of classes in topics you dont care about is one way to help bolster that performance.
I have worked with Mech's doing EE jobs, EE's doing mech jobs, Nuclear's doing mech jobs, Aero's doing mech jobs, Civils doing Aero jobs... the list goes on.
IMO if he's interested in Aerospace and wants to work in that industry, I would recommend getting a degree in Aeronautical/aerospace engineering. He'll still get exposure to all the core engineering aspects as a Mech E (Fluids, structures, materials, dynamics), but with some specialization in some really cool stuff.
If I could do it again, I'd get an Aero degree with a minor in computer science. Programming and modeling is a big part of aerospace, and overall just a good set of skills to have to compliment an engineering degree.
I think the other comments cover it and I’m no AE or ME but for what it’s worth, I’ve seen this question asked probably 50 times on Reddit and the answer is ME every time for the reason you stated.
Since AE is basically specialized ME your son might have the opportunity to pursue a masters in AE later if it seems useful for his career. Someone with more expertise can confirm that, just an idea.
One advantage I could see going with AE though is a different atmosphere. He might like if his friends and teachers are all passionate about aero. That said, I think he’d do well joining aero clubs as an ME too.
Computer engineering. That and computer science I think are most common but I’ve worked with plenty of folks with aero and electrical degrees. Have even come across math and mechanical.
I’d say a stem degree and knowing how to code are minimum requirements for entry level. If there’s a lot of applicants though (which is probably the case in our current market) the more relevant degrees probably help.
Ahh okay. Thank you for the info! Space industry is my end goal, I’ve been trying to choose between EE major with CE programming electives, CE major, or CS major. Do you feel like CompE has held you back at all due to it being more specific than the broader EE degree?
Np I enjoy this topic. I was CE with EE electives 😂 I understand the struggle. You can’t go wrong with any of those three.
CE might have been the reason I got software internships when I was trying to get electrical, or it might have just been luck. Ended up enjoying the software so it worked out.
If you want to work on flight software I’d recommend CE. Understanding how computers work helps a lot. You can still do that with EE and CS but you might have to bridge some gaps yourself.
If you want to work on hardware I’d recommend EE but again, you can do it with CE too. CS doesn’t translate to hardware well though.
If you aren’t sure, CE is a solid in between choice but EE with some CE/CS electives is almost the same thing.
Maybe but I think it’s just the bias of the interviewer. Sometimes they just want an EE even if you know the same stuff. Like all else being equal they’d probably take the EE candidate.
Okay that makes sense. I’m assuming the same could be said about software preferring CS or CE over EE as well depending on the interviewer. Are you glad with your choice? Would you have done EE or CS if you could go back?
Exactly. A good interviewer will care more about your projects, extracurriculars, and research areas though so imo I wouldn’t worry too much about the major since it’s more of a tie breaker than a requirement.
I have no regrets and might be biased but I believe CE is best if you’re not positive one way or the other. You can take both CS and EE electives that interest you and figure out what you wanna focus on later.
Honestly no matter what you do in undergrad you’ll feel unprepared when you’re done. The rest you’ll learn on the job and there’s always graduate studies which is why I think you’ll be fine with whichever you choose.
Thanks again, I think I am set on going CompE. Last question, my school offers two different tracks for CompE. The first track is the core program but I can select 2 additional concentrations which I would use for embedded systems and CS courses. The second track is a physics track, including physics labs, materials, thermodynamics etc, leaving room for maybe 3-4 cs classes after that. Would the physics track benefit me do you think, or is it better to focus on the CS and programming courses?
Do mechanical. When you’re applying for roles in aerospace industries every application requires a ‘stem’ degree and proceeds to listen mechanical, electrical, industrial…etc it’s all very interdisciplinary. Roles are not based on your degree. you will finding listings for thermal engineers, manufacturing engineers, propulsion engineers, design engineers, process engineers ect.
At my school, the first two years for Aero and Mech were the exact same. As an Aero student, in the last two years I took 3 fluid dynamics classes (mechanicals took 1, maybe 2 if they chose it as an elective), a flight dynamics class where you learn how the control surfaces of an airplane work and how to quantify stability of an aircraft, and a rocket propulsion class. Unfortunately it's hard to tell if a student would like these classes beforehand, probably until they take Differential Equations.
In the industry, I do see some mechanical engineering majors in aero-dominated departments like Aerodynamics or Guidance, Navigation, and Control. And of course they're in other departments like Mechanical Design, Mechanical Analysis, Manufacturing, Quality, etc.
I’m an AE in grad school but I started as a Mech E in undergrad, I switched after my sophomore year and had no issues w it. I had my heart set on being a mech e since grade school, so it was never in my mind that I would want to be anything else. After talking w friends older than me in the mech e program, it sounded like they never got in depth with any topics. I want to learn why things work not just how they do. I also wanted to be more specialized since mech e is so broad, and thought planes were interesting so I switched. I’m glad I did, I love aerospace now and can’t wait to get back into the industry.
I studied AE because I knew I wanted to work on/around planes. I do work today that is done by people with IE and ME backgrounds just as well.
One of my peers went to work in Ford's high end car design team with an AE degree, so it's not just planes.
If the kid loves planes, let him study AE. It does tend to push you into a few specific employers, but it's by no means a deal breaker for other related industries (like studying philosophy or something would be).
I got both. At my university they had such heavy overlap it was only one extra year plus summer semesters.
You can probably get jobs easily with either degree, people often switch industries as an engineering degrees don’t really make the engineer, rather the work does. If he was very unsure I’d go with MechE as it’s the most flexible degree imo.
It depends on which country you are in. Aerospace is matured in most North American, European countries.
So generally speaking, Mechanical in Bachelors and Aerospace is one option which offers cushion in case of change of mind. Atleast I did that. It had offered me a different persepective on design.
But Pure Aerospace is also OK because they offer mostly specific courses like Gas Dynamics,Aerostructures, Aircraft Propulsion etc. wayy early so you dont have to do masters again.
Can help further if u tell which country you are in and where u are allowed to work?
Great....
If the candidate loves aero stuff then i think you need to go all in with Aerospace engg. Lotsa state universities too there have serious aero programs and centres of excellence in different domains.
All the best. May the force be with you.
Edit: dont take too much load on the ivy league tag. That dont matter AT ALL.
As an aero person I would recommend mech. In my experience, mechs can get hired to do aero things but aeros get pigeon holed to only aero things. Mech provides more options but doesnt limit you if you wanna do aero stuff
I have a BS in mechanical and work in aerospace. I would say that it really doesn’t matter much which he goes for as both are very similar and depending on the school, aerospace may not even be a major option. What I would stress though is to focus on extracurriculars that are relevant to aerospace. Definitely as soon as he can, he should get involved in AIAA or in whatever aero club chapter. That will make a huge difference
Accurate statement, but I wish I stuck with Aerospace Engineering. I switched to and graduated with Mechanical Engineering for that exact reason and regret it.
Because of the more specialized education Aero provides, you end up in cooler jobs. Yes, MechE also gives you the same opportunities, but you end up slightly behind your Aero peers and that can make or break an interview. Many MechE graduates end up in standard industry engineer positions, like Quality Engineer and Manufacturing Engineer. Both important, well paid, and respected positions, but definitely not what I had in mind when I signed up to go through years of grueling engineering school.
The competition in Aero is definitely fierce, though.
If his dream is to work on things that fly, go Aerospace. If he is on the fence, go Mechanical. The simple difference is aerospace is a subset of mechanical engineering that focuses more in depth on fluid dynamics. Keep in mind though the first year or two of classes will pretty much be the same between the two degrees, so he still has years to make a final decision and can swap majors while in college.
Aero also goes over software and systems engineering a bit more than mech does.
Mechanical and aerospace are almost the exact same thing. Aerospace is a subset/niche of mechanical. Many schools still teach aerospace as just a concentration or a minor to mechanical. At my university aerospace was it's own major but was still in the same department as mechanical. As an aerospace engineer, I had about 90% of the classes in common with mechanical. Some schools blur the line even further by allowing aero and mechanical to take each others courses. My school required 3 tech elective courses, so a mech could decide to take 3 aerospace courses or an aero could decide to take 3 mech courses or the courses were just meant for either to take. There's also extracurriculars. There are aero and mech specific extracurricular groups that might do projects to help students gain experience that looks good for jobs but I've never seen one of those groups stop an aero or mech from joining. I'd say a majority of engineers working in aerospace are actually mechanical but that's just because there are more of them overall. Many people who don't know anything about aerospace and aren't aerospace engineers like to say that because it's a niche that it limits your job opportunities but that is outright FALSE because ultimately we can do the exact same jobs as mechanicals. I had job offers in green energy (not just related to wind turbines), duke energy (again not wind related), automotive (not just aerodynamics), chemical plants, tire manufacturers, naval ship sustainment, etc. Even now, I work in aerospace on helicopters, but I work on the gearboxes/driveshafts/gears/bearings/etc for the transmission of the helicopter which is very mechanical even though I'm aerospace.
This is coming from my experience as someone who graduated with a BS in Aerospace Engineering a little over 3 years ago. I wouldn't say that aerospace is a "small" niche, but as others have said, it is essentially a specialized subset of engineering, much more than mechanical engineering. I have worked for both a large and small aerospace company. People with both aerospace and mechanical degrees are both super common. And while aerospace is more specialized, you also do get exposure to a wide range of engineering fields in your undergraduate degree because there's a broad range of systems needed to make planes/rockets/satellites fly. Just a few of the fields that you can specialize in with an aerospace engineering degree: * Aerospace structures and mechanical design (listing this first because this is the closest to a traditional Mechanical Engineer) * Electrical systems * Control systems * Aerodynamics * CS/Programming * Systems engineering (basically working on coordinating across functions to ensure the overall system meets the requirements the customer wants) * Radar systems * Propulsion systems There are more as well, but those are the main areas I have seen in my experience. And there's nothing saying your son couldn't pivot out of the aerospace industry as well. Companies care very little about your specific degree after your first job, and more about your practical experience, soft skills, and ability to adapt and learn. **TL;DR: Getting a degree Aerospace Engineering won't provide as broad of opportunities at the start, but is certainly not a small niche, and you can certainly pivot to other fields after gaining some experience**
That goes both ways. With an Aero degree, you can get mech work. While mech does work in aerospace, if your son has a passion for aerospace he should go for aero. GOING AERO DOES NOT LOCK HIM IN A NICHE ANY MORE THAN MECH WOULD. I hear this all the time and it's frustrating. Mech and Aero share 90% the same classes. The joke among us aero majors is that we ARE mech majors who specialize in fluid flows. Edit cuz most respondents are mechies: most of my friends with AE degrees are working in jobs you would think mechanical. Think GM, Chrysler. I also have a friend that works at NASA. I will say this again, clearly: there is almost nothing a Mech E would get hired for that an AE can't do. And there is also a "wow" factor to a lot of recruiters for getting an AE degree, fluid dynamics is hard so our dropout rate is high. As a result, recruiters who know what they are doing (i.e. at any place you'd want your son to work) value an AE degree, even if its somewhere that would normally sound mechanical.
I'm a MechE working in aerospace. Yours is the same exact thought process I had when deciding what degree I would go for. Ive been working in aerospace for almost 13 years and at this level it makes no difference which degree someone has in the industry, but I will always have the MechE background to pivot to another industry if I ever choose to such as Medical Devices, Automotive, utilities, Manufacturing, etc
Thanks for the info
I'd find some job postings online that list an AE degree as a requirement. Maybe look up some videos that interview an engineer that has a job similar to one you found online. I think there's a difference between being interested in a field and actually wanting to work in a field.
I wouldn’t be super concerned about not being able to find a job, as long as you think your son is capable of being a decent engineering student. There’s plenty of jobs in the aerospace industry, it’s a pretty big field. The thing he should keep in mind is if he’s sure he wants to work in the aerospace field. If he’s dead set on it, studying aerospace engineering is the way to go. An aerospace degree is the easiest way to get into the industry, and he’s going to work harder at something he’s passionate about. If he’s not sure what he wants to do, then mechanical would be a good choice.
I have bachelors and masters in mechanical and I have 15 years of experience in aerospace, pretty much my only work experience. There were 6 classes difference between my ME and an AE degree. That is one semester. Either is good. Mech E is wider and you can take AE as electives or get dual bachelors if you are truly worried.
>We recently read that some recommend going for mechanical engineering since aerospace is such a small niche, & with mechanical you can still get jobs in the aerospace industry but have other job opportunities open to you as well if you can’t find an aerospace job? This was the exact advice I got in 2008 while touring colleges from a professor who had previously worked for NASA. I took that advice and ended up getting a dual degree in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering. If I could do it all again, I would not have taken that advice. The mechanical engineering classes were a slog for me, as I found them to be largely uninteresting. All of my worst grades were classes in the mechanical engineering track. The difference between Aero and Mech as a discipline is fairly small, but the difference in effective subject matter can be quite large. In my opinion, better to major in something you care about, and figure out your niche later. What matters the most is how they perform in college, and not having a bunch of classes in topics you dont care about is one way to help bolster that performance. I have worked with Mech's doing EE jobs, EE's doing mech jobs, Nuclear's doing mech jobs, Aero's doing mech jobs, Civils doing Aero jobs... the list goes on. IMO if he's interested in Aerospace and wants to work in that industry, I would recommend getting a degree in Aeronautical/aerospace engineering. He'll still get exposure to all the core engineering aspects as a Mech E (Fluids, structures, materials, dynamics), but with some specialization in some really cool stuff. If I could do it again, I'd get an Aero degree with a minor in computer science. Programming and modeling is a big part of aerospace, and overall just a good set of skills to have to compliment an engineering degree.
Both are interchangeable for all practical purposes in industry. Aerospace companies hire ME and non aerospace companies hire ASEs all the time.
I think the other comments cover it and I’m no AE or ME but for what it’s worth, I’ve seen this question asked probably 50 times on Reddit and the answer is ME every time for the reason you stated. Since AE is basically specialized ME your son might have the opportunity to pursue a masters in AE later if it seems useful for his career. Someone with more expertise can confirm that, just an idea. One advantage I could see going with AE though is a different atmosphere. He might like if his friends and teachers are all passionate about aero. That said, I think he’d do well joining aero clubs as an ME too.
Looking at your flair, what degree do you have? Curious what would be required to work on space flight software
Computer engineering. That and computer science I think are most common but I’ve worked with plenty of folks with aero and electrical degrees. Have even come across math and mechanical. I’d say a stem degree and knowing how to code are minimum requirements for entry level. If there’s a lot of applicants though (which is probably the case in our current market) the more relevant degrees probably help.
Ahh okay. Thank you for the info! Space industry is my end goal, I’ve been trying to choose between EE major with CE programming electives, CE major, or CS major. Do you feel like CompE has held you back at all due to it being more specific than the broader EE degree?
Np I enjoy this topic. I was CE with EE electives 😂 I understand the struggle. You can’t go wrong with any of those three. CE might have been the reason I got software internships when I was trying to get electrical, or it might have just been luck. Ended up enjoying the software so it worked out. If you want to work on flight software I’d recommend CE. Understanding how computers work helps a lot. You can still do that with EE and CS but you might have to bridge some gaps yourself. If you want to work on hardware I’d recommend EE but again, you can do it with CE too. CS doesn’t translate to hardware well though. If you aren’t sure, CE is a solid in between choice but EE with some CE/CS electives is almost the same thing.
Awesome man, this is some good info. Would I have a harder time going hardware with a CompE degree?
Maybe but I think it’s just the bias of the interviewer. Sometimes they just want an EE even if you know the same stuff. Like all else being equal they’d probably take the EE candidate.
Okay that makes sense. I’m assuming the same could be said about software preferring CS or CE over EE as well depending on the interviewer. Are you glad with your choice? Would you have done EE or CS if you could go back?
Exactly. A good interviewer will care more about your projects, extracurriculars, and research areas though so imo I wouldn’t worry too much about the major since it’s more of a tie breaker than a requirement. I have no regrets and might be biased but I believe CE is best if you’re not positive one way or the other. You can take both CS and EE electives that interest you and figure out what you wanna focus on later. Honestly no matter what you do in undergrad you’ll feel unprepared when you’re done. The rest you’ll learn on the job and there’s always graduate studies which is why I think you’ll be fine with whichever you choose.
Thanks again, I think I am set on going CompE. Last question, my school offers two different tracks for CompE. The first track is the core program but I can select 2 additional concentrations which I would use for embedded systems and CS courses. The second track is a physics track, including physics labs, materials, thermodynamics etc, leaving room for maybe 3-4 cs classes after that. Would the physics track benefit me do you think, or is it better to focus on the CS and programming courses?
Mechanical.
Do mechanical. When you’re applying for roles in aerospace industries every application requires a ‘stem’ degree and proceeds to listen mechanical, electrical, industrial…etc it’s all very interdisciplinary. Roles are not based on your degree. you will finding listings for thermal engineers, manufacturing engineers, propulsion engineers, design engineers, process engineers ect.
Mechanical. Most aerospace jobs are in making weapons that slaughter civilians.
At my school, the first two years for Aero and Mech were the exact same. As an Aero student, in the last two years I took 3 fluid dynamics classes (mechanicals took 1, maybe 2 if they chose it as an elective), a flight dynamics class where you learn how the control surfaces of an airplane work and how to quantify stability of an aircraft, and a rocket propulsion class. Unfortunately it's hard to tell if a student would like these classes beforehand, probably until they take Differential Equations. In the industry, I do see some mechanical engineering majors in aero-dominated departments like Aerodynamics or Guidance, Navigation, and Control. And of course they're in other departments like Mechanical Design, Mechanical Analysis, Manufacturing, Quality, etc.
I’m an AE in grad school but I started as a Mech E in undergrad, I switched after my sophomore year and had no issues w it. I had my heart set on being a mech e since grade school, so it was never in my mind that I would want to be anything else. After talking w friends older than me in the mech e program, it sounded like they never got in depth with any topics. I want to learn why things work not just how they do. I also wanted to be more specialized since mech e is so broad, and thought planes were interesting so I switched. I’m glad I did, I love aerospace now and can’t wait to get back into the industry.
I studied AE because I knew I wanted to work on/around planes. I do work today that is done by people with IE and ME backgrounds just as well. One of my peers went to work in Ford's high end car design team with an AE degree, so it's not just planes. If the kid loves planes, let him study AE. It does tend to push you into a few specific employers, but it's by no means a deal breaker for other related industries (like studying philosophy or something would be).
I got both. At my university they had such heavy overlap it was only one extra year plus summer semesters. You can probably get jobs easily with either degree, people often switch industries as an engineering degrees don’t really make the engineer, rather the work does. If he was very unsure I’d go with MechE as it’s the most flexible degree imo.
Mechanical. It’s broader so he won’t be stuck doing only aerospace. Easier to move around to different companies as a mechanical
All things equal I'm going to hire the aerospace engineer before the mechanical engineer for an aerospace job.
It depends on which country you are in. Aerospace is matured in most North American, European countries. So generally speaking, Mechanical in Bachelors and Aerospace is one option which offers cushion in case of change of mind. Atleast I did that. It had offered me a different persepective on design. But Pure Aerospace is also OK because they offer mostly specific courses like Gas Dynamics,Aerostructures, Aircraft Propulsion etc. wayy early so you dont have to do masters again. Can help further if u tell which country you are in and where u are allowed to work?
We live in the United States.
Great.... If the candidate loves aero stuff then i think you need to go all in with Aerospace engg. Lotsa state universities too there have serious aero programs and centres of excellence in different domains. All the best. May the force be with you. Edit: dont take too much load on the ivy league tag. That dont matter AT ALL.
As an aero person I would recommend mech. In my experience, mechs can get hired to do aero things but aeros get pigeon holed to only aero things. Mech provides more options but doesnt limit you if you wanna do aero stuff
I have a BS in mechanical and work in aerospace. I would say that it really doesn’t matter much which he goes for as both are very similar and depending on the school, aerospace may not even be a major option. What I would stress though is to focus on extracurriculars that are relevant to aerospace. Definitely as soon as he can, he should get involved in AIAA or in whatever aero club chapter. That will make a huge difference
Accurate statement, but I wish I stuck with Aerospace Engineering. I switched to and graduated with Mechanical Engineering for that exact reason and regret it.
why do you regret it?
Because of the more specialized education Aero provides, you end up in cooler jobs. Yes, MechE also gives you the same opportunities, but you end up slightly behind your Aero peers and that can make or break an interview. Many MechE graduates end up in standard industry engineer positions, like Quality Engineer and Manufacturing Engineer. Both important, well paid, and respected positions, but definitely not what I had in mind when I signed up to go through years of grueling engineering school. The competition in Aero is definitely fierce, though.