My son is senior in high school. Wants to go into aerospace. Planned to go to state but also interested in Naval ROTC which we don’t have. Looking at Auburn, Purdue, Ga Tech, Embry Riddle, and Colorado. Going by fact they are all listed is news top 15 except Auburn but it’s proximity helps. any information would be appreciated.
OT. Aerospace help for my son
- Thread starter dawgdr
- Start date
Go to MSU. The program has a pretty distinguished past and is one of the best regarded fields at MSU.
I am a Purdue guy, so you know my opinion. Is he looking into Engineering or is he more into Technology? There is a pretty big difference. The NROTC at Purdue is very good. Feel free to email with any questions.
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My dad did electrical engineering at MSU, but worked in aerospace for nearly 35yrs and through the recession and was never laid off.
Now that he's an "old timer" (63), he got laid off last year from a very well known engineering firm. The firm itself is having some issues.
I'm not saying don't do it, but Aerospace is very specialized. He was designing test stands for actuators and other types of hydraulic pumps. He liked what he did, but it was very specialized, lots of middle managers and demands on when testing would be complete when you never really know and you have non engineers making engineering decisions. I guess that's how corporations go these days.
He should go to MSU, however. Just do good research on the company he would go work for. My dad worked for 2 companies his whole 35ish years.
ETA: It's not all about the money, but it seems engineers start off making good money, but then their salaries increase but fairly slowly. You make good money in your later years, but the real money in engineering is made when you go out on your own, and aerospace is VERY hard to do on your own since it's so specialized. My dad always "worked for the man."
Now that he's an "old timer" (63), he got laid off last year from a very well known engineering firm. The firm itself is having some issues.
I'm not saying don't do it, but Aerospace is very specialized. He was designing test stands for actuators and other types of hydraulic pumps. He liked what he did, but it was very specialized, lots of middle managers and demands on when testing would be complete when you never really know and you have non engineers making engineering decisions. I guess that's how corporations go these days.
He should go to MSU, however. Just do good research on the company he would go work for. My dad worked for 2 companies his whole 35ish years.
ETA: It's not all about the money, but it seems engineers start off making good money, but then their salaries increase but fairly slowly. You make good money in your later years, but the real money in engineering is made when you go out on your own, and aerospace is VERY hard to do on your own since it's so specialized. My dad always "worked for the man."
I did AFROTC at State way back when it was called Aeronautical Engineering and was actually accepted into GT but was too much of a homebody to go there. I gotta admit, those Navy guys are pretty smart, they take a soft bed and a kitchen with them everywhere they go.
I have two degrees in ASE at MSU, I've been in the field for 25 years. I also took several graduate classes from Ga Tech during my MS degree, so have an idea of how they compare...
For Aerospace in general, UofMS is right, it's a very narrow field. You have to really love the hardware (which I did), love the subject and be willing to specialize. That said, I'm now in senior engineering management in Flight Test and my experience in job hires is having any hard science engineering degree (Mech, EE, ASE, etc) is enough. There's really not a preference for an ASE over a Mech or EE. That said, we're more of a T&E environment, so the Structures or Flying Qualities departments may put more of an emphasis on it.
For State vs GaTech, in my opinion/experience, they both teach the same subject with the same level of competence. GaTech, however, has an extra degree of difficulty in the work, approaching downright hazing, to all their assignments. It's ridiculous what they assign to the grad students for overall difficulty and busy work. I guess the 'work extra hard' mentality makes them feel special. State's Aero dept assumed that your undergrad shows you're willing to do the work and they treat you accordingly, without having to prove yourself a second time. Exception to Warsi, although I think he didn't realize how tough he was, just operated on a completely differently level as everyone around him. IVLF (Incompressible Viscous Laminar Flow, a.k.a. "Incomprehensibles"..) was the toughest class I ever took. Period.
Between State and GaTech, I recommend State. One caveat: there is something to cross-pollination. Getting your MS from the same school as your BS can impart a bias. Going to a different school can provide a fresh viewpoint to certain areas of your education. Especially true in the labs...
Hope that helps some...
For Aerospace in general, UofMS is right, it's a very narrow field. You have to really love the hardware (which I did), love the subject and be willing to specialize. That said, I'm now in senior engineering management in Flight Test and my experience in job hires is having any hard science engineering degree (Mech, EE, ASE, etc) is enough. There's really not a preference for an ASE over a Mech or EE. That said, we're more of a T&E environment, so the Structures or Flying Qualities departments may put more of an emphasis on it.
For State vs GaTech, in my opinion/experience, they both teach the same subject with the same level of competence. GaTech, however, has an extra degree of difficulty in the work, approaching downright hazing, to all their assignments. It's ridiculous what they assign to the grad students for overall difficulty and busy work. I guess the 'work extra hard' mentality makes them feel special. State's Aero dept assumed that your undergrad shows you're willing to do the work and they treat you accordingly, without having to prove yourself a second time. Exception to Warsi, although I think he didn't realize how tough he was, just operated on a completely differently level as everyone around him. IVLF (Incompressible Viscous Laminar Flow, a.k.a. "Incomprehensibles"..) was the toughest class I ever took. Period.
Between State and GaTech, I recommend State. One caveat: there is something to cross-pollination. Getting your MS from the same school as your BS can impart a bias. Going to a different school can provide a fresh viewpoint to certain areas of your education. Especially true in the labs...
Hope that helps some...
I'll second garndawg. For undergrads in engineering, there really is not a significant difference from a hiring perspective. You don't take enough specialty classes as an undergrad to really make a difference one way or another; you are just getting your foundational knowledge. We hire more based upon personality and demonstrated performance at the undergrad level, and the actual engineering discipline is a "nice to have". At the graduate level, it counts more because you are intentionally specializing in a subject area. Thus, you are hiring a specialist so you want the graduate degree to be in that subject area preferably. Also agree that getting your graduate degree at a different university is preferable because it exposes the student to different teaching styles and subject philosophical emphasis.
As for college rankings, I wouldn't put much stock into it. Most of those rankings are based upon research dollars of the programs and not teaching. Better to pay more attention at the graduate level, while you want your kid to be taught well to have a solid foundational education at the undergraduate level...for example Harvey Mudd is probably the best undergraduate school in the country for engineering, but its because of their emphasis on teaching. Comparing the schools you mentioned, MSU is as competitive as the rest at the undergrad level, then send him somewhere else for grad school.
As for college rankings, I wouldn't put much stock into it. Most of those rankings are based upon research dollars of the programs and not teaching. Better to pay more attention at the graduate level, while you want your kid to be taught well to have a solid foundational education at the undergraduate level...for example Harvey Mudd is probably the best undergraduate school in the country for engineering, but its because of their emphasis on teaching. Comparing the schools you mentioned, MSU is as competitive as the rest at the undergrad level, then send him somewhere else for grad school.
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