Automotive to Aerospace: What are my chances? 2

[HCMonolith]

Background - I am currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree and I will graduate in about a year. I have a relatively high GPA. Last summer I interned for an automotive supplier in the climate control department designing A/C lines, brackets, interfacing with customers, etc. Right now I am a co-op for a different automotive supplier, in the climate control department, building and testing HVAC units.

My issue - Almost all of the jobs for a mechanical engineer in my area are within the automotive industry. I would like to stay local right out of school to earn my masters degree while working, but I do not want to stay within the automotive industry afterwards. Given this, I am worried of getting stuck within the industry. I have always wanted to go into aerospace, and eventually work within a space program, but there just aren't any local aerospace companies that I can get into right out of college. I don't mind what I am doing right now at my co-op, and it's with a very good company, but it's just not what I aspire to do.

So here is my first question - How difficult would it be to make the switch from automotive (likely within HVAC) into aerospace, after a few years?

I can think of a few ways that the skills learned at my current job could be transferable, but my thinking is that most people applying to an aerospace job will have aerospace experience, not automotive.

Another route would be to stay in the automotive industry, acquire a managing position and use that experience to transfer, though this is not ideal for me.

Other questions - Has anyone made the switch from automotive to aerospace, or perhaps any other differing industry? Do you have any advice in making the switch?

Would it be difficult to secure an entry level aerospace position, or higher, given my background and automotive experience?

May I be rightly optimistic about ending up within a space program someday, given the experience that I will have?

I am open to any and all feedback. Thanks.

 

[msquared48]

A good friend of mine was working in Detroit in a mechanical engineering position, got laid off in 08 with the rest of us, and moved to Boeing in Everett where he is currently in management.

So, yes it is possible, but like so my other things, timing is critical, and with Boeing, it's how you fill out the application and structure the resume. You have to get by their damn unfeeling screening omputer to reach a person.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[miningman]

I cannot see how an entry level job, plus say 2-5 years experience in that job , within the automotive industry could be anything but a hindrance to breaking into aerospace. If you really want aerospace as a career, find an entry level job in that industry , at ANY geographical location that will hire you. If you are not willing to relocate right now then you are not committed to the aerospace industry. Theres nothing wrong with putting your short term personal preferences ahead of career planning, if those preferences really are important to you. But dont kid yourself, then you are sacrificing your potential ability to break into a new industry later on.

Nearly all employers in all industries now prefer to hire younger workers and train them specifically within their own corporate culture with industry specific knowledge. Five years in the automotive industry and you have five years of bad habits and poor attitudes that your potential aerospace employer has to be willing to spend time and money eliminating.

 

[KENAT]

What is your masters going to be in, aerospace engineering?

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[GregLocock]

Don't aeroplanes have AC systems?

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[HCMonolith]

"What is your masters going to be in, aerospace engineering?"

It is likely that I will have it at least partially funded by the company that I am working for, which means it will need to be relevant to that position. I was thinking mechanical with a focus in thermodynamics/fluid mechanics or structural.

If it is not funded by the company, then I could do aerospace. Although, I have not found it difficult to find mechanical engineer job posts on various aerospace company websites; be it commercial airline, military, or space.

Would the aerospace specific masters degree make that much of a difference? I know this question may sound odd considering I desire a position within an aerospace company, but how different would an aerospace degree be than a mechanical degree focusing in fluid dynamics?

 

[Comcokid]

The automotive and aerospace industries are more related than you might think. The SAE has automotive and aerospace catagories (basically if it moves, be it a submarine, riding lawnmower, truck, bulldozer, power boat, ship, train, or plane, the SAE has members that are involved).

In my career, I have passed through several industries, and have done electronics for the pleasure boating industries and industrial vehicles (what the SAE categorizes as off-road vehicles). Presently I design electronics used in the aircraft industry, mostly general aviation up through business jets. However, in the past I have worked on designs that are currently in nuclear power plants, nuclear missle submarines, and the international space station. But I've also done electronics for surveying lasers and setup test systems for production of computers and printers.

I have one friend that designed electronic motor actuators used for aircraft flap and landing gears, then did contract work for a couple years in Detroit designing electric motor driven turbochargers for trucks, and is presently in the industrial industry designing motor controls for pumps. Another friend started by designing switch-mode power supplies for commercial passenger jets, but has since used the same SMPS skills to do designs for electric and hybrid vehicles, military electronics, and even power supplies for Apple computer.

An engineering career is not defined by the industry, but by the skill set, and the ability to solve technical problems of a particular type. That technology type may be used in a number of different industries. A long career consist of being able to learn new skills and learn new technologies as the older technologies fade and become history.

Since your profile indicates "mechanical" I would look into learning about technical areas that cross-over between several fields. Composite structures for example. This can carry you between automotive and aerospace, and even into medical. Go to your school library and read the magazines from the particular parts of the automotive and aerospace segements your interested in. Read between the lines to learn which specific CAD tools are most common to certain industries. Look at the subject matter of articles to get a feel of what similar kinds of technical developments are occurring in different fields.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

If the company you work for will only fund something outside of aerospace, then getting into the aerospace market will be more difficult in the long run. While I don't agree with all of miningman's post, I do agree that you need to be considering the long-term goals. Getting no experience in the aero field, as well as getting a degree that's not in the aero field, will reduce an aero company's interest. That's not to say the switch can't be made, but you are hamstringing yourself from the get-go. This may be one of those "suck it up" moments and require you to move to an area that will allow for a good school AND a good job. Another option is to intern for a non-local shop... you get the aero experience but don't have to move (just yet).

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[racookpe1978]

Or, flip it, why are you limiting yourself to aero or automotive?

If you can apply for funding for a masters, why not get educated in the details of a program that are more broad-based: Welding, metallurgy, or machining or machine tool wear, or friction, or heat treatment and stress relieving, or post weld heat treatment, or casting, or electro-etching, or heat transfer/fluid flow/thermo-dynamics .... Every one of those is applicable across industry boundaries - including gasp! - construction, repair, and industrial servicing industries such as nuclear power/generator construction/gas turbine construction/solar panel or wind mill (turbine) fabrication => aerodynamics and vibration and fluid flow, field engineering and equipment modification, manufacturing, and alteration.

Stop thinking of "one field" as a single catch-all of one limited thing.

 

[ctopher]

Maybe get into something that can be used in both areas, i.e. materials, carbon fiber, aerodynamics, etc.

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 13
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[weldstan]

I had no problem moving into aerospace (Spaceshuttle) from an EPC firm (metallurgical processing, nuclear fuels processing, petrochem and power) and integrated steel making. But that was 37 years ago.

 

[bigTomHanks]

Aerospace is hot right now so with a little luck you have a good chance of landing an entry level position. Network with your classmates who get hired into aero to help you get your foot in the door.

 

[tbuelna]

HCMonolith-

I've worked in both the automotive and aerospace industries as a mechanical engineer. The aerospace work is generally much more interesting, and it pays much better. If you want to know what you should focus on with your post-grad effort, I would suggest becoming proficient at using the computational analysis tools (CFD, FEA, etc.) commonly used in the aerospace industry.

If you can demonstrate a proficiency in CATIA V5, ANSYS and NASTRAN, combined with a MS in engineering, any US aerospace company will readily offer you a job paying a starting salary close to $100K.

Good luck to you.

 

[IRstuff]

Thermal is thermal. If your MS is in thermal control or something comparable, I think it would be an easy transition. The tool sets are probably similar; heat removal is a ubiquitous problem. For other subdisciplines, it might be more difficult, but good thermal guys are usually in demand, regardless of the industry. You could just as easily slide into the electronics industry or whatever.

You didn't say, I think, what part of aerospace, which is an extremely broad category. But, satellites have heat to dump; airplanes have heat to dump, weapons have heat to dump, etc., etc., etc.,

Satellites do have some level of uniqueness:
> multilayer insulation (MLI) -- but there are terrestrial MIL applications
> heat dump mainly through heat pipes and radiation -- but there are terrestrial heat pipe applications

TTFN
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