Mechanical, or aerospace engineering?

It's been really hard for me to choose a major, but after narrowing down from many, I'm stuck between aerospace and mechanical engineering. I realize aerospace engineering is sort of a sub-discipline of mechanical engineering, and hence, it's more specialized (so job prospects is quite narrow - but feel free to tell me otherwise)

I'm intrigued by the idea of designing aircrafts/spacecrafts, but I'm not quite sure if I'm exactly passionate about it. So would it be better, for the safety of getting employed, choose mechanical engineering over aerospace engineering?

Reply 1

SageJiraiya

Well, you should always try to do something that you'd enjoy. If you believe you can put in enough work to become an aerospace engineer, then I dont see why you couldn't. It may provide a better sense of accomplishment, as it sounds significantly harder than mechanical engineering. However, if you find yourself feeling too worried, it may be better to just stick with the easier option, mechanical engineering.

Reply 2

Doones

Original post by SageJiraiya

Aero isn't "harder".

For one thing, entrance requirements are the same as for Mech.

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Reply 3

SageJiraiya

Original post by jneill

Aero isn't "harder".

For one thing, entrance requirements are the same as for Mech.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Ah, I phrased that wrong. What I meant is that it sounds harder to get a job in aerospave engineering. That's why it may provide a better sense of accomplishment.

Reply 4

Prajna

Original post by SageJiraiya

Ah, I phrased that wrong. What I meant is that it sounds harder to get a job in aerospave engineering. That's why it may provide a better sense of accomplishment.

You can get a job in any area of finance with a degree in aerospace engineering, please refrain from giving bad advise.

Reply 5

Prajna

Original post by eftio.gea

You won't struggle to find employment with a degree in aerospace engineering.

Reply 6

SageJiraiya

Original post by Prajna

You can get a job in any area of finance with a degree in aerospace engineering, please refrain from giving bad advise.

It's just me offering my opinion on the matter, it's subjective to say its bad advice. At the end of the day, he doesnt have to take my advice you know.

Reply 7

Trapz99

Original post by Prajna

You can get a job in any area of finance with a degree in aerospace engineering, please refrain from giving bad advise.

Finance is harder to get into than engineering jobs- it's so competitive and you can't just go into finance as a back up.

Reply 8

Prajna

Original post by Trapz99

Finance is harder to get into than engineering jobs- it's so competitive and you can't just go into finance as a back up.

Fair enough.

Though, a degree in aerospace engineering from a prestigious university plus internships should make you a competitive candidate.

Reply 9

bigboateng_

Original post by eftio.gea

Aerospace is not a sub sector of mechanical engineering, it is its own field as its quite big although the jobs and content you learn at uni is quite similar. In uni both mechanical and aerospace learn maths, thermodynamics, fluids etc, aerospace engineers apply that to aeroplanes, rockets, etc where as a mech will be using maybe cars, rocket engines etc. So the idea that a mechanical engineer has more job prospects than aero is not true.
In aerospace and mech degree about 80% of the modules you do will be the same in first year, then in second year onwards, there are a bunch of modules to do, aerospace engineers will have to do certain modules as compulsory such as orbital mechanics, aerodynamics, etc where as in mech, you can either do those modules as well or do the many other modules available. so the advantage of mech is you have a lot of choices in terms of modules. But the only problem is that most people will tend to choose easier modules or random modules where as in aerospace your modules are such that you become well rounded engineer who can hopefully build aerospace related stuff.

Also to add, specialising is good (not just in aerospace) but in any other field, this makes it easy for you go get a job actually because you will know very in depth about a topic. Also most things in engineering are cross platform aka if I'm specialised in designing aeroplanes I can quite easily go into a car manufacturing company to design cars. If I'm specialised in developing electronics and propulsion systems for satellites I can easily go and design electronics for a company that makes 3d printers, but if I started making 3d printer electronics, its not necessarily true that I can straight to nasa and work on satellites, so in my opinion doing hard stuff aka such as applying basic fundamentals all engineers learn in first year to hardcore systems like aircrafts puts you at quite an advantage to other jobs that arent aerospace.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 10

Doones

Original post by Prajna

You can get a job in any area of finance with a degree in aerospace engineering, please refrain from giving bad advise.

What's does finance/IB have to do with OP's question? They want to work on aircraft not banks.

Reply 11

Trapz99

Original post by Prajna

Fair enough.

Though, a degree in aerospace engineering from a prestigious university plus internships should make you a competitive candidate.

The degree doesn't matter at all as long as it is at a good university (this is for investment banking, asset management and big four accounting/consulting) . What matters more is your extra curricular activities and your personality.

Reply 12

Doones

Original post by Trapz99

Stop going on about IB. This is an engineering forum, and the OP hasn't asked anything about IB.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 13

University of Glasgow

Official Rep

Original post by eftio.gea

Hi there!

There's been plenty of good advice given, I may repeat some of it, but just know that things depend on many factors, hence differing opinions.

First of all, to reinforce bigboateng's point, Aerospace is not a sub-discipline of Mechanical. It's a very common misconception that Aero is very specialized and will get you few jobs. Just because you get a degree in Aero does not mean your only option is to become an Aerospace Engineer.

The majority of engineering disciplines are interlinked, some more closely than others. Aero and Mechanical will have many overlapping courses and material which can often mean that either degree can land you in either the Aerospace sector or the Mechanical sector. You can learn a lot of systems in Aero, so you could also join the Electrical or Software sectors. The main point is that most degrees are there to equip you with fundamental skills, with some specialization, in order to make you an attractive candidate - your degree does not define what job you can go into (as also mentioned, its common for those doing Aero to end up in finance).

Saying that, if you are interested in aircraft/spacecraft, then Aero is absolutely an ideal degree to go into. I do Aeronautical and it's safe to say I have done plenty aircraft design projects. If you are unsure about which to pick, some universities offer Mechanical with Aeronautics, or something similar, where you get to take some classes in Aero.

Do plenty of reading up in either field, or all engineering fields for that matter, and try and find the one which you would be happiest doing. Look at university course contents, companies, job prospects, locations, etc.

Hope this helps, and please let us know if you have any other questions! :smile:

Scott
Undergraduate Rep
Aeronautical Engineering - School of Engineering

Reply 14

meediaabid

either way you'll have a degree in a very respected field, many employers love a candidate with a STEM degree regardless of the area they're working in - your job prospect worries need not be