Mechanical vs Aerospace Engineering?

[Cy-Fy]

Hello guys, I know this is very off topic but hey it is in the off topic section. Anyway, I'm getting closer to the time when I will have to choose courses at university to apply to and I have decided to choose an engineering degree simply because I really enjoy maths and the mathematical physics we do in school and I am very curious and think this would be a perfect degree for me. However, I've been researching a lot and have narrowed it down to mechanical and aerospace because they are the ones that deal the most with forces and mre tangible things which I like.

BUT, I have also discovered that in mechanical engineering there are certain areas which don't seem too interesting to me, at least not now, such as hvac systems or manufacturing processes and techniques which I see their importance but wouldn't want to do as a job for the rest of my life. On the other hand I look at aerospace and it looks a lot more advanced and it uses really cool physical theories like aerodynamics or propulsion. Aerospace engineering just seems that tiny bit more futuristic and "cool" if you know what I mean.

The only problem I have with aerospace is that I don't know if it is too focused or to specialised and maybe there will not be as much opportunity for jobs in the future. But on the other hand, even though mechanical engineering is much more broad and maybe useful when looking for a job I just have a feeling that it is going to be very tedious/boring at times for some reason.

Well, what do you guys think? Anyone here with any of these degrees or in a similar situation that could let me her their opinion?

Thanks very much!

[thekeemo]

If you work in aerospace chances are you will end up making tech that's going to go into the military and kill innocents

Go with mechanical. After the first year you can specialize in whatever you want.

[TheGamingBarrel]

If you work in aerospace chances are you will end up making tech that's going to go into the military and kill innocents

Go with mechanical. After the first year you can specialize in whatever you want.

Guess what? Almost anything will be used as a weapon.

[Enderman]

Do you live near an airport or something?

Here in vancouver there is a big airport and lots of flying stuff and hangars

 

I guess your job possibilities just depends on what is in your area

 

Of course if you specialize in aerospace engineering a lot of that can still be applied to general engineering, so if you want to move to some different type of engineering in the future you probably only need to take a few courses or training to be able to work in a non-aerospace job

[Speedyv]

I am in this same exact same situation. I decided to apply to better AE specialized universities under an AE major and other universities under an ME major. Just becasue of the fact that AE is a more specialized discipline. I live around a lot of aerospace companies and would love to work for one, but it isn't so easy getting in. And not every university offers AE as a major. 

 

AE and ME encompass a lot of the same classes and material as far as I have heard from others who have done ME/AE.

[thekeemo]

Guess what? Almost anything will be used as a weapon.

sadly, but with aerospace ALL the aerospace companies do military contracting. Not so with mechanical engineering.

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

If you work in aerospace chances are you will end up making tech that's going to go into the military and kill innocents

Go with mechanical. After the first year you can specialize in whatever you want.

this. some of the biggest engineering firms around where I live do a lot of work with the DOD.

[Speedyv]

sadly, but with aerospace ALL the aerospace companies do military contracting. Not so with mechanical engineering.

 

So... paying taxes goes towards the military. Does that mean you wouldn't pay taxes? 

And those corporations also hire mechanical engineers... Even the different branches of a single company deals with different stuff such as commercial, satellite, military, etc.

[thekeemo]

So... paying taxes goes towards the military. Does that mean you wouldn't pay taxes? 

And those corporations also hire mechanical engineers... Even the different branches of a single company deals with different stuff such as commercial, satellite, military, etc.

Yes but with mechanical engineering I have a choice

And I live in a country whose defense budget is used (primarily) for peacekeeping missions unlike a country we all know very well..

[Raccatography]

So... paying taxes goes towards the military. Does that mean you wouldn't pay taxes? 

And those corporations also hire mechanical engineers... Even the different branches of a single company deals with different stuff such as commercial, satellite, military, etc.

 

*Butting in*

 

Paying taxes is mandatory (for adults at least) so there's no question there

 

Choosing your career has a lot more freedom involved

 

*This thread is interesting. Currently taking up civil engineering now*

[thekeemo]

*Butting in*

 

Paying taxes is mandatory (for adults at least) so there's no question there

 

Choosing your career has a lot more freedom involved

 

*This thread is interesting. Currently taking up civil engineering now*

im stuck in between civil mech and elec so many choices..

[Curufinwe_wins]

ME sucks. Super boring 99% of the time, and anything that isn't super boring is best served by a different major. That said if you don't really know exactly what you want to do, starting with ME isn't a bad way to get your feet wet all the way around.

 

 

Source: Graduated with a degree in Nuclear Engineering.

[Raccatography]

im stuck in between civil mech and elec so many choices..

 

there are a lot ._. If you can't choose which one you like the most, then choose which ones makes a whole lot more sense career wise? (I figure that electrical engineers will be heavily needed in my country in the coming decade because internet companies will -most likely- put fibre optic internet everywhere)

 

as for the OP, I agree with what Curufinwe_wins said. I don't think it's difficult to shift out to any course from ME but I think it's a bit difficult to shift to ME. Colleges in my country require interviews to get admitted to that course.

[Speedyv]

Yes but with mechanical engineering I have a choice

And I live in a country whose defense budget is used (primarily) for peacekeeping missions unlike a country we all know very well..

 

Well somebody needs to engineer the satellites that transmit information all over the world (used by many countries), or the rockets that take these satellites into space orbit (also used by many different countries), or the commercial planes (definitely used by many different countries), or national defense/security (which deals with military stuff and other things such as missiles/space intelligence etc.) 

 

So don't act like it's a huge cover for killing people...

[thekeemo]

there are a lot ._. If you can't choose which one you like the most, then choose which ones makes a whole lot more sense career wise? (I figure that electrical engineers will be heavily needed in my country in the coming decade because internet companies will -most likely- put fibre optic internet everywhere)

 

as for the OP, I agree with what Curufinwe_wins said. I don't think it's difficult to shift out to any course from ME but I think it's a bit difficult to shift to ME. Colleges in my country require interviews to get admitted to that course.

 

Heres hoping im leaning towards elec

Well somebody needs to engineer the satellites that transmit information all over the world (used by many countries), or the rockets that take these satellites into space orbit (also used by many different countries), or the commercial planes (definitely used by many different countries), or national defense/security (which deals with military stuff and other things such as missiles/space intelligence etc.) 

 

So don't act like it's a huge cover for killing people...

I never said it was

but if you work in an aerospace company you will one way or another work directly for the military

[Cy-Fy]

Do you live near an airport or something?

Here in vancouver there is a big airport and lots of flying stuff and hangars

 

I guess your job possibilities just depends on what is in your area

 

Of course if you specialize in aerospace engineering a lot of that can still be applied to general engineering, so if you want to move to some different type of engineering in the future you probably only need to take a few courses or training to be able to work in a non-aerospace job

 thanks for the help, I will consider the job opportunities however where I live there aren't really many big companies of any engineering field so it is sort of a given that I will have to move when it comes to finding a job so the industries where I live is not really important I think 

I am in this same exact same situation. I decided to apply to better AE specialized universities under an AE major and other universities under an ME major. Just becasue of the fact that AE is a more specialized discipline. I live around a lot of aerospace companies and would love to work for one, but it isn't so easy getting in. And not every university offers AE as a major. 

 

AE and ME encompass a lot of the same classes and material as far as I have heard from others who have done ME/AE.

  yes I feel you man but the thing that makes it difficult for me is that here in the UK you only apply to ME OR AE because it is not like majors and minors here so I have to make up my mind before applying

Yes but with mechanical engineering I have a choice

And I live in a country whose defense budget is used (primarily) for peacekeeping missions unlike a country we all know very well..

  

ME sucks. Super boring 99% of the time, and anything that isn't super boring is best served by a different major. That said if you don't really know exactly what you want to do, starting with ME isn't a bad way to get your feet wet all the way around.

 

 

Source: Graduated with a degree in Nuclear Engineering.

  could you give me a bit more information on what you found boring about ME? Also you said you draduated with a Nuclear Engineering degree but did you also do ME?

there are a lot ._. If you can't choose which one you like the most, then choose which ones makes a whole lot more sense career wise? (I figure that electrical engineers will be heavily needed in my country in the coming decade because internet companies will -most likely- put fibre optic internet everywhere)

 

as for the OP, I agree with what Curufinwe_wins said. I don't think it's difficult to shift out to any course from ME but I think it's a bit difficult to shift to ME. Colleges in my country require interviews to get admitted to that course.

yeah but like I said to the other guys it is tough because I have to decide before applying as courses here are strictly separate and you can't switch between them... in any direction if you know what I mean?

Any particular advice on AE vs ME? Maybe advantages/disadvantages of each if you know any?

Thanks again!!!

[babbaj]

If you work in aerospace chances are you will end up making tech that's going to go into the military and kill innocents

Go with mechanical. After the first year you can specialize in whatever you want.

[nerdyrcdriver]

I am electrical engineering technology because it is really hands on and focuses on learning how to use the internet to find and apply info you need rather than purely memorizing everything.

 

I don't know much about aerospace engineering, but it sounds like a great fit for you. The one thing is that there is a lot of responsibility and if you get something wrong that someone else doesn't catch it falls on you. That will definitely require you to get your professional engineer's license and likely work under one for several years before you get to do anything super risky/important. But you should still be able to do stuff that interests you. 

 

That is what drives a lot of people away from civil engineering they realize that if they design a bridge/building and it fails after being built to spec by the construction company all of that liability falls on the professional engineer that put his seal/stamp on the papers and it can ruin a persons career. In reality people work together a lot and there is insurance and stuff to help. 

[Real_PhillBert]

I'm an ME, and decided on that because a degree in ME is incredibly versatile, for example a ME can almost always take an AE position, but the reverse is not always true. 

 

I know a few AE's who wish they would have gone ME because of this. When the aerospace industry goes into a slump (very often) they are often laid off. One even gave up after being laid off twice and got an MBA instead. 

 

Personally I tried to stay away from all of the very specialized degrees. 

[Cy-Fy]

I'm an ME, and decided on that because a degree in ME is incredibly versatile, for example a ME can almost always take an AE position, but the reverse is not always true. 

 

I know a few AE's who wish they would have gone ME because of this. When the aerospace industry goes into a slump (very often) they are often laid off. One even gave up after being laid off twice and got an MBA instead. 

 

Personally I tried to stay away from all of the very specialized degrees. 

Thanks for your opinion... I didn't really know about that. But yeah I think a very broad degree is quite handy but my fear is that I will not like a lot of the course because of its broad nature (even though I really enjoy physics and maths in school). In all honesty did you ever feel like your ME degree got a bit tedious or boring?  (and just to be clear by tedious I don't mean hard work... I don't care spending all day/night trying to solve a problem as long as it is something enjoyable)

[Real_PhillBert]

Thanks for your opinion... I didn't really know about that. But yeah I think a very broad degree is quite handy but my fear is that I will not like a lot of the course because of its broad nature (even though I really enjoy physics and maths in school). In all honesty did you ever feel like your ME degree got a bit tedious or boring?  (and just to be clear by tedious I don't mean hard work... I don't care spending all day/night trying to solve a problem as long as it is something enjoyable)

 

I did not find it boring, but others might not agree. I thought the most boring classes were the general engineering classes that everyone has to take before you end up in a specific program. 

[Cy-Fy]

I did not find it boring, but others might not agree. I thought the most boring classes were the general engineering classes that everyone has to take before you end up in a specific program.

thanks very much again! I really appreciate firs hand info from an actual engineer!And sorry to bother you with more questions but do the ME job prospects look good for the future? Especially with nearly everything moving towards the digital(software) world?

[Real_PhillBert]

thanks very much again! I really appreciate firs hand info from an actual engineer!And sorry to bother you with more questions but do the ME job prospects look good for the future? Especially with nearly everything moving towards the digital(software) world?

 

Everything you touch has at least one ME working on it, even in the electronics age. So I dont see the job market for ME's drying up any time soon. 

 

Take phones for example, an ME somewhere did the design of the phones frame, speaker elements physical connectors and so on. 

[ionbasa]

I'm an Mechanical Engineer (BS):
Most schools have different concentrations available for you to take, most of those won't come into play until your 3rd/junior year.

 

Here are the concentrations that my school offered for ME:

• General ME
• Materials and Structures
• Energy and Environment
• Design and Manufacturing
• Mechatronics

So, you're bound to find something that floats your boat. And regrading the HVAC class, you may or may not have to take that class. If it's a technical elective, then there are other classes you could use to substitute for that one.

 

Personally, I went with ME since I could advance my career in just about any path I wanted. Aerospace, in my opinion, is too limited, with only certain applications and jobs available. With ME, I can work in Construction Design, Modeling and Simulation, Aerospace, Public Works, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Utilities (Power, Water Gas), Natural resources (oil, gas) and Renewables, Robotics, Automotive, etc. You're bound to eventually find a job that you like. Your skillset is flexible. You can find yourself working just about anywhere, and engineers are always in demand.

 

Regarding formal coursework: most of the concepts you learn in class still applies, we just have tables to look up values and software to do everything else! Everything becomes easier as you go along (in my honest opinion).

 

PS: The hardest class you'll probably take is first Thermodynamics and/or dynamics class in their series. They'll push your calculus skills to the test. After that, you basically use MatLab for everything that's too complicated to solve by hand.

[techie]

I'm studying civil engineering at the moment myself, but I had some mates who were tossing up between ME and AE like you are.

 

Long story short, most of them decided to study ME since like others have said, you can do most of AE with a ME degree, but the reverse does not necessarily apply.