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What should I focus on in my junior year if I want to take an aerospace engineering major in college Which colleges are good for aerospace ? What type of extra curricular should I focus on ??
Hi , I'm a junior in high school . I was thinking of taking aerospace engineering in college . I wanted to know about the extra curricular that would help in my college resume . Please give me some good advice . Thanks !
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6 answers
Updated
Michael’s Answer
Hi Shubheksha:
While in high school, one will need to focus on science and math classes to prepare for a career in Aerospace Engineering. Physics, biology and chemistry will be the core science courses. For math, algebra, geometry, statistics and calculus will be needed. Both concentrations will enable you to focus and refine your analytical skills; complex problem solving; investigative and innovative critical thinking; attention to detail and observation skills; etc.
Other skills that will need to be built upon center around team building, team work and communication. In any work culture, collaboration amongst team members, partner departments and clients occur on a daily basis. A college course in public speaking, communications and English will help with one's communication and writing skills since analysis reports are generated and findings are presented to colleagues and other professionals who deal with Aerospace Engineering. Another recommendation is to seek the advice from your high school guidance counselor and teachers. They can help guide your educational pathway for Aerospace Engineering.
According to U.S. News & World Report, here are the top colleges and universities to consider for Aerospace Engineering:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- California Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
- Purdue University (West Lafayette)
- University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
- University of Colorado (Boulder)
- University of Texas (Austin)
- Princeton University
- Texas A&M University (College Station)
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/aerospace-rankings
When reviewing colleges and universities, it is best to check the following:
- In-State vs Out of State Tuition
- Internships
- Scholarships
- Career Placement upon graduation
- Course work and offered classes
- Post-Graduate Degrees - Master and Doctoral
There will be a application fee to pay for when submitting college applications. The amount of application fee will depend on the college that you are applying to. If there are questions about the college application process, please reach out to the college's Registrar Office.
College and scholarship applications can start to be submitted during your Junior year and will continue throughout your Senior year in high school. It is best to ask your Academic Advisor/School Counselor on the timeline process as well. College and scholarship applications will have specific deadlines and requirements to meet in order to be submitted for review and consideration.
You may want to start to compile your resume/portfolio since a majority of college and scholarship applications will require academic grade point average (GPA), academic accomplishments, school activities (clubs, sports, etc.), community involvement (volunteer, church, etc.), academic and personal recommendations, etc. There may be essay requirements on why you are a qualified candidate to receive the scholarship and to gain entry to the college of your choice, what your future goals are academically and professionally and other questions centering around who you are, your beliefs, etc.
Here are a couple of links for College Scholarships:
https://www.mometrix.com/blog/scholarships-for-college/
https://www.nchchonors.org/students/awards-scholarships/national-scholarships
Also, it will be best to check with the colleges and universities that you will be applying to. You can check with the School/Department of your desired major, the Campus Career Center and the Register's Office for additional information for college scholarships and grants and specific requirements for qualifications.
There should be no limit on the amount of scholarships that one can apply to. It will take time to fill out the scholarship applications and provide all of the necessary required information. Also, there should no fee and no cost to fill out and submit scholarship applications. If there is a fee or cost that is associated with a scholarship application, then please do not send this particular scholarship application in. It will be a scam and money will be lost.
Here is a link for Indeed.com that provides career pathways for an Aerospace Engineer:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/aerospace-engineering-career
Hope this helps and best wishes for your education and career in Aerospace Engineering!
While in high school, one will need to focus on science and math classes to prepare for a career in Aerospace Engineering. Physics, biology and chemistry will be the core science courses. For math, algebra, geometry, statistics and calculus will be needed. Both concentrations will enable you to focus and refine your analytical skills; complex problem solving; investigative and innovative critical thinking; attention to detail and observation skills; etc.
Other skills that will need to be built upon center around team building, team work and communication. In any work culture, collaboration amongst team members, partner departments and clients occur on a daily basis. A college course in public speaking, communications and English will help with one's communication and writing skills since analysis reports are generated and findings are presented to colleagues and other professionals who deal with Aerospace Engineering. Another recommendation is to seek the advice from your high school guidance counselor and teachers. They can help guide your educational pathway for Aerospace Engineering.
According to U.S. News & World Report, here are the top colleges and universities to consider for Aerospace Engineering:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- California Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
- Purdue University (West Lafayette)
- University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign)
- University of Colorado (Boulder)
- University of Texas (Austin)
- Princeton University
- Texas A&M University (College Station)
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/aerospace-rankings
When reviewing colleges and universities, it is best to check the following:
- In-State vs Out of State Tuition
- Internships
- Scholarships
- Career Placement upon graduation
- Course work and offered classes
- Post-Graduate Degrees - Master and Doctoral
There will be a application fee to pay for when submitting college applications. The amount of application fee will depend on the college that you are applying to. If there are questions about the college application process, please reach out to the college's Registrar Office.
College and scholarship applications can start to be submitted during your Junior year and will continue throughout your Senior year in high school. It is best to ask your Academic Advisor/School Counselor on the timeline process as well. College and scholarship applications will have specific deadlines and requirements to meet in order to be submitted for review and consideration.
You may want to start to compile your resume/portfolio since a majority of college and scholarship applications will require academic grade point average (GPA), academic accomplishments, school activities (clubs, sports, etc.), community involvement (volunteer, church, etc.), academic and personal recommendations, etc. There may be essay requirements on why you are a qualified candidate to receive the scholarship and to gain entry to the college of your choice, what your future goals are academically and professionally and other questions centering around who you are, your beliefs, etc.
Here are a couple of links for College Scholarships:
https://www.mometrix.com/blog/scholarships-for-college/
https://www.nchchonors.org/students/awards-scholarships/national-scholarships
Also, it will be best to check with the colleges and universities that you will be applying to. You can check with the School/Department of your desired major, the Campus Career Center and the Register's Office for additional information for college scholarships and grants and specific requirements for qualifications.
There should be no limit on the amount of scholarships that one can apply to. It will take time to fill out the scholarship applications and provide all of the necessary required information. Also, there should no fee and no cost to fill out and submit scholarship applications. If there is a fee or cost that is associated with a scholarship application, then please do not send this particular scholarship application in. It will be a scam and money will be lost.
Here is a link for Indeed.com that provides career pathways for an Aerospace Engineer:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/aerospace-engineering-career
Hope this helps and best wishes for your education and career in Aerospace Engineering!
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Shubheksha
Updated
Robert’s Answer
There are already a few answers here that give you the basics for what to expect in a University AE program. For prepping at the HS level, I'll add that you should look into the Real Word Design Challenge (RWDC) @ https://realworlddesignchallenge.org/.
There are a number of schools participating from California and the competition will give you some good insight into the world of aviation and engineering without getting too far down into the technical weeds. Some other extracurricular activities would be to look into getting a drone pilots license, or even go for an introduction ride and considering pursuing a private pilot's license (many flight school offer the intro ride for free or at least very cheap). When doing these types of aviation filed related activities, you'll make some connections and may even find some aviation professional mentors who can help advocate for you when you need letters of ref. to your desired University. On that note, when selecting your University program, seek out the ones that have strong co-op and internship support programs. From personal experience on both sides of this fence, a co-op has a much better chance of landing their first AE job than students who only got the degree. Co-op experiences offer real world engineering training that can translate to companies real world needs better than just getting the theory education.
There are a number of schools participating from California and the competition will give you some good insight into the world of aviation and engineering without getting too far down into the technical weeds. Some other extracurricular activities would be to look into getting a drone pilots license, or even go for an introduction ride and considering pursuing a private pilot's license (many flight school offer the intro ride for free or at least very cheap). When doing these types of aviation filed related activities, you'll make some connections and may even find some aviation professional mentors who can help advocate for you when you need letters of ref. to your desired University. On that note, when selecting your University program, seek out the ones that have strong co-op and internship support programs. From personal experience on both sides of this fence, a co-op has a much better chance of landing their first AE job than students who only got the degree. Co-op experiences offer real world engineering training that can translate to companies real world needs better than just getting the theory education.
Thanks for the help.
Shubheksha
Updated
Oanh’s Answer
Hi,
If current school have courses for college credit. To your major, try to take physic 1 and 2, Math- Calculus, Chemistry, English. These courses will help credit, shorten the year in college, and also save lot of money. Good lucks.
If current school have courses for college credit. To your major, try to take physic 1 and 2, Math- Calculus, Chemistry, English. These courses will help credit, shorten the year in college, and also save lot of money. Good lucks.
I'm excited to put your great advice to good use!
Shubheksha
Updated
Jake’s Answer
Hi there!
I will give some advice based on a recent interview I had with the CFO of a military contracted company that spent 12 years in the aerospace field.
Disclaimer: this is not to discourage or change your path so please do not take it as the truth, it's only an observation.
This CFO said to me that he found his fellow employees that majored in Aerospace Engineering were not quite specialized enough and that the major was perhaps not as intensive as it needed to be to perform well in the industry. He mentioned that he preferred to work with or hire more electrical or mechanical engineers over aerospace engineers.
It may be wise to consider the mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineering majors instead and focus on courses that relate to aerospace applications.
That being said, if the courses in the Aerospace Engineering major inspire you and get you excited about college please follow your heart and intuition.
One super unique and fun extra curricular that I did right out of college, and that you can do at any time is Mark Rober's creative engineering course that he promotes every summer (see link below). You will choose 3 of your own projects, apply his engineering techniques and get help/support from the community (why not build a working miniature rocket, or whatever interest you about aerospace).
Mark Rober Creative Engineering Course Wait-list: https://app.studio.com/mark-rober-engineering
Anyways, that's my 2 cents. Whatever you end up doing, find a way to enjoy it!
I will give some advice based on a recent interview I had with the CFO of a military contracted company that spent 12 years in the aerospace field.
Disclaimer: this is not to discourage or change your path so please do not take it as the truth, it's only an observation.
This CFO said to me that he found his fellow employees that majored in Aerospace Engineering were not quite specialized enough and that the major was perhaps not as intensive as it needed to be to perform well in the industry. He mentioned that he preferred to work with or hire more electrical or mechanical engineers over aerospace engineers.
It may be wise to consider the mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineering majors instead and focus on courses that relate to aerospace applications.
That being said, if the courses in the Aerospace Engineering major inspire you and get you excited about college please follow your heart and intuition.
One super unique and fun extra curricular that I did right out of college, and that you can do at any time is Mark Rober's creative engineering course that he promotes every summer (see link below). You will choose 3 of your own projects, apply his engineering techniques and get help/support from the community (why not build a working miniature rocket, or whatever interest you about aerospace).
Mark Rober Creative Engineering Course Wait-list: https://app.studio.com/mark-rober-engineering
Anyways, that's my 2 cents. Whatever you end up doing, find a way to enjoy it!
Thank you, this is really helpful.
Shubheksha
Updated
Rebecca’s Answer
Thank you for your question. I am glad to hear that you like aerospace engineering. Maths and science subjects are very important.
Below are my suggestions:
1. Explore the entry criteria of aerospace engineering subject of colleges
2. Attend the information sessions host by aerospace engineering of colleges. Speak to professors and alumni if you can
3. Seek guidance from your mentor, school career counselor, your parents, etc c.
4. Work hard on academic subjects that relevant to the entry criteria
5. Join relevant extra curriculum activities
Hope this helps! Good luck!
May Almighty God bless you!
Below are my suggestions:
1. Explore the entry criteria of aerospace engineering subject of colleges
2. Attend the information sessions host by aerospace engineering of colleges. Speak to professors and alumni if you can
3. Seek guidance from your mentor, school career counselor, your parents, etc c.
4. Work hard on academic subjects that relevant to the entry criteria
5. Join relevant extra curriculum activities
Hope this helps! Good luck!
May Almighty God bless you!
Thank you, this is really helpful.
Shubheksha
Steward "Tony" Pacheco
Minister, USMC Vet, John C. Maxwell Cert. Coach, Trainer, Speaker, Teacher, Straight Shooter
117
Answers
Updated
Steward "Tony"’s Answer
As a seasoned Aerospace/DoD Headhunter I decided to look up some basic qualifications for one job. It will point you in the right direction for your studies. The experience you will eventually get, but the area you want to specialize in will determine how far up the food chain you will rise.
Look at a few open jobs and if you find some resumes follow what path they took to get to the best contracts. I would Tesla/Space X apprentership programs or other opportunities which can get you in the door.
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in a relevant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 12 years of related engineering experience; OR Master of Science (MS) degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 10 years of related engineering experience; OR Ph.D. in a relevant STEM discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience
Experience designing primary and secondary composite aircraft parts/components, assemblies, and installations
Must have the ability to obtain DoD Secret clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) clearance prior to the commencement of employment
Preferred Qualifications:
Degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering
Active DoD Secret (or higher) clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
Proficiency with NX Solid Modelling or similar 3D modeling software
Proficiency with Teamcenter
Understanding of GD&T and MBE methods
Look at a few open jobs and if you find some resumes follow what path they took to get to the best contracts. I would Tesla/Space X apprentership programs or other opportunities which can get you in the door.
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in a relevant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 12 years of related engineering experience; OR Master of Science (MS) degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 10 years of related engineering experience; OR Ph.D. in a relevant STEM discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience
Experience designing primary and secondary composite aircraft parts/components, assemblies, and installations
Must have the ability to obtain DoD Secret clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) clearance prior to the commencement of employment
Preferred Qualifications:
Degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering
Active DoD Secret (or higher) clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
Proficiency with NX Solid Modelling or similar 3D modeling software
Proficiency with Teamcenter
Understanding of GD&T and MBE methods
Thank you so much, Steward "Tony"!
Shubheksha