What is it like to be an aeronautical engineer for those of you out there.?

Question

I'm a freshman in college pursuing an aero major and was wondering what my future would be like. Thanks!

Answer 1

well you could be a system engineer or a powerplant engineer  in the Reliability Engineering section of Maintenance & Engineering Dept. of an airline, where you do troubleshooting on recurrent remarks the mechanics have found hard to T/S. You are defineitely involve in the action even at your desk.

I was telling my son that but still he wants to be a mechanic like me thrilled to the thought of me going places with Bars on my shoulder and Nav. bag with only a leatherman as my tool. He is going freshman.

Answer 2

It is very rewarding and interesting if you are working for a company that does not stick you into a job where you do the same thing every day for 20 years. I have been fortunate in that I joined a small company that over the years became quite successful. I never did the same thing for two days in a row - ever - and I never sat at my desk for extended periods. I was up and around, watching work on the build floor, or meeting with Air Force guys, or running tests. But I did get to use my engineering skills and even got to invent a few things. I also got to use my past experience as a pilot to apply to design situations in the real world. It's been a great ride.

A word of advice: If you are in the U.S., take a little extra time and take the P.E. exam series for your state. This helped me more as an engineer than any of the graduate level courses that I took. I took both tests twenty years after I was out of school, and I passed them both the first time, but it was tougher that way. I had to take a refresher class, but it was extremely worthwhile. Once I got my license, I had the confidence to make design decisions based on my own knowledge instead of always asking everyone else's opinion. The real secret to success in this field (as in most fields) is not intelligence, and not knowledge, but just hard work. Best of luck....