How to become a good Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineer

[Luv2detonate]

Hi Everyone...Happy new year to all of you.I have a problem that i think only experienced people like most of you guys on this forum can answer.

I did my bachelors in Mechanical Engineering and right now im pursuing my Masters in Mechanical/Aerospace engineering.I want to go ahead and work in Field of Aerspace/aeronautics with specialization in propulsion systems.If any of you guys are working in this field ..could you plz suggest the Most relevent courses i should take( maybe some of the courses that you took yourself in school).

Which softwares should i try to learn(i.e..which softwares are bare necessaties of this field).Also does it matter if I learn those softwares on my own or should i get professional training for that.I mostly learned Mechanical engg softwares like Pro-E practicing myself.

Also if you have any advice for me so as to how to go about studies,internship or training....PLZ POST A REPLY HERE.I am in dire need of some good guidance in this matter.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR TIME AND HELP...Thanks.

 

[EVdave13]

Gotta chime in here - I'm in structures, but the same idea will apply...

Get practical experience via a co-op or internship!!!

Typically, even though you are graduating with a master's degree, companies still have to do a lot of training to bring you up to speed after graduation. Having some practical experience in the field is invaluable. It shows you the software you need to use, the references you will need, the techniques used in your area, and you get to work with experienced people in your field, which is the most valuable part. You also get exposed to various areas enough to decide if you really want to be there, or if you might like something in a slightly different area a bit better.

It may stretch out your school time some, but it is worth it.

I co-oped in structures and aerodynamics. My aero boss knew just about everything, or at least where to look to find it. He taught me how the little things you changed affected the big picture and vice versa (move this antenna 12 inches aft and look what happens to the loads, to the performance,...), how and when to use similarity, what references to use to get certain types of information, etc. That and my structures experiences showed me several possible career paths, and I was able to eliminate some from consideration.

As far as courses to take, you will get some good guidance on that from your co-op bosses. The internship or co-op really catches the eyes of potential employers, too.

 

[IRstuff]

Not sure what specific area in propulsion you're interested in, but model rocketry, at least the high end, might also be a good place to get some practical experience. Cal State Long Beach has a course where the students actuall design and build their own liquid-fuel rockets that they get to launch or watch them burn (whichever comes first ;-) ).

You should also look around to see what research projects are available and try to get in on them

TTFN

 

[amorrison]

IRstuff

I wanna wanna WANNA take that liquid rocket building course.

If it was available for two weeks in the summer I think 1000 engineers would apply for every seat ! ! !

 

[monkeydog]

Hmm,
IRstuff brought up a good point. When you are talking about aerospace/aeronautic propulsion, you are talking about a variety of systems.

Liquid rocket propulsion, you would want to learn about mechanisms, turbomachinery, some pyro stuff, some chemistry of combustions, hydraulics/pneumatics. Solid motor propuslion, chemistry of combustions, more structural background, pyrotechnics. Spacecraft propulsion would be the same as liquid and solids, with the exception of turbomachinery and more in the mechanisms, also spacecraft propulsion will be a little heaver in the electric/nuclear propulsion.

Aeronautic propulsion will most likely be more like the liquid rocket propulsion, but I am sure some propeller head out there will correct me on that.

As stated before, the best method to get this figured out for you is to intern. My background was aircraft mechanic and then machinist before school, so I migrated to the hardware end of the business.

 

[Luv2detonate]

hi Guys,

I cant really believe how helpful everyone is on this forum is...Thanks for showing so much concern towards my concerns.
Specially monkeydog,IRstuff,EVdave13 for your insightful suggestions.

Well as i just moved into this field from mechanical Engineering so Propulsion system had a broader meaning for me but right now im Taking classes in propulsion systems(propeller,Turbojet,etc) which cover a lot of interesting Topics,thermodyanimics of materials,Combustion,and High Energy density physics which are all graduate classes and i guess will cover a lot of areas as suggested by monkeydog.

I have also actively started looking for internship for my next 2 quarters to get a feel of things in industry as i really lag in this department.

I also really wanted to know about the SOFTWARES i should begin learning...i guess CATIA is one...is there anything out there that i MUST learn??

I am looking forward for more helpful suggestions as above.

THANKS A LOT!!

 

[monkeydog]

Luv2detonate,
I would not get too worked up about learning new software unless you are going to use it for a project. I would have to echo what EVdave13 said regarding software training. CADDS type of software is probably the most at risk for change in the industry. Just in my company, at my geographical location I can think of 5 CADDS packages that are being used (and that is at the top of my head at 7 AM). If you really feel as though you need to learn a software package, I would suggest NASTRAN. That is package that does finite element model analysis, most known for the structural/stress analysis. NASTRAN is probably the most universal software package that you will probably use at any company. But, once you are known as a NASTRAN guy, it will be hard for you to get out of that mode (which is not bad from a job security standpoint).