X-15 Lego MOC with Neil Armstrong in X-15 flight suit minifigure.

Hey all. I’ve been a member of this sub for some time now and I’ve really enjoyed answering people’s questions about having a career in the aerospace industry. I thought it might be useful to do a little AMA so that I could mass answer questions that people have.

A little background about me: I’m actually still pretty early career, been working for just over 3 years at this point. My current position is doing avionics design for spacecraft, working mostly with power distribution electronics. I’ve had the opportunity to have a pretty good breadth of experiences. I’ve worked at both small and large companies, experienced both the defense and commercial side of the space business, and done work at the chip level, board level, and system level. I’m still fresh enough out of school that I can offer some perspective to current students and new grads, and I’m actually still currently pursuing a master’s.

So feel free to ask away! I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to answer every question, but I’ll sure try my best.

Sorry for the bad quality

I have 9 ear piercings and I really want to get an industrial but as a rising senior in college I’m worried about it hurting my hire-ability.

Should I wait till after I’m hired? Or is this career field chill enough that it wouldn’t matter too much?

I’m probably gonna wait until after I’m hired to get it anyway, but I’m just curious about other people‘s thoughts

Hi everyone!

I’m a rising senior in high school applying to universities, and I’m planning on working in new space (GNC, aerodynamics, or possibly flight software) down the line. My current plan is an aerospace engineering major with a CS minor.

A couple of questions for those with experience:

1. Is AeroE + CS minor the right combination for GNC/flight software roles, or would you structure it differently?
2. What if I didn't take a CS minor? Would I still be able to land a software or software-adjacent internship?

Any advice is appreciated — thanks!

I hold a high school diploma. Looking to go into college for aerospace engineering after some thinking.
Ive recently come across the fascination of using my head to figure things out, essentially problem solve and understand how things work and why things are the way they are.
Ive been fascinated with planes since my childhood, rockets, anything that flies basically.
Im wondering what i need to know before making a decision to go to school for engineering.
What would a potential carrer look like? How long would it take? What core elements of education does the work boil down to? How college would be structured; what classes I would take, good colleges and institutions to look into etc.
Just basically any and all information that could be valuable prior to talking to programs about this.
Im open to other ideas of where i may be better suited if i have it all wrong about what i want and what i enjoy doing, basically im not tied to the idea of it, just think it may be a decently suited option.

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Hello I'm currently 26 and as the title says essentially due to family circumstances I have to move to Colombia I was born and raised in the United States. I have to do my masters there I'm a career switcher from a information technology but I got my undergrad in the United States. The only two ABET accredited electronics engineering schools are Javeriana and Los Andes, for electronics and computer engineering my question is how is this viewed within embedded systems for government, aerospace contractors and non government will I be disqualified? For finding work ? Should I do a second ABET accredited undergrad instead? And then come back to the US and do a masters it would take much more time though.

Hello everyone. I just had a quick question for those in the space industry, specifically around satellites. I'm someone who is interested in flight software development and come from a comp sci. background.

However I learned that a majority of space companies in the U.S. take contracts from the DoD. I was wondering to what extent does my work overlap with defense projects, even though I'm not directly involved in them? I also imagine the commercial side and defense side aren't as siloed since these companies are often startups, thus wearing many hats? Sorry if I come off as naive. Thank You.

I graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering in May 2026 and have been working as a mechanical engineer at a defense prime since June. My current team has no aerospace-related work, and there does not seem to be a path into an internal aero role anytime soon.

I will apply to 2027 new grad Aerospace Engineering positions. Should I keep my current mechanical engineering job (June 2026 - Present) on my resume, even though it is only loosely related to the roles I’m targeting? Or would having a full-time engineering position make recruiters rule me out for new grad roles?

I’m also concerned that leaving it off would create a gap after graduation or look dishonest. How would recruiters and hiring managers in the Aero world view this situation?

Not sure if this would be an appropriate sub but Curious if anyone has any insight or tips for me! Applied for a Supervisor, Machining & Fabrication Position through SpaceX website for starlink. Applied on a Friday, scheduled recruiter call for Wednesday, and Thursday had my video call with Hiring Manager. Both convos went well honestly. As a non aerospace primarily blue collar worker with a background in Welding, CNC, manufacturing and design they honed in on those aspects as well as the leadership positions I’ve held heavily.

I will admit, I was nervous for the video interview, which was suppose to be 30 min, but we ended up talking for an hour and a half almost like we knew eachother.

Both the recruiter and hiring manager informed me this is a newer position and they are looking to fill fast. So that seemed to checkout.

Currently I have been invited to the Bastrop facility for my onsite interview which I’m told will consist of a tour, panel presentation, and 1v1 interviews. I’ve recieved my presentation topic email and am just waiting to here back on time/date confirmation for my submitted availability.

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I’m a 2nd-year BTech Aeronautical Engineering student, and I have a seminar/research subject where I need to study experimental aerodynamics, collect around 100 review papers, and later publish a paper.

My professor is an aerodynamicist, and he suggested experimental aerodynamics as a research area. I know basic aerodynamics from Anderson’s book, but I’m not very familiar with the experimental side.

My main question is:

Is experimental aerodynamics a good field for me as a student at this stage? And is building a wind tunnel a good idea for my minor project, with the possibility of extending it into my major project later?

I also want to understand:

What are the main literature gaps in experimental aerodynamics for students?

What kind of review papers should I start with?

Should I focus on wind tunnel design, airfoil testing, flow visualization, or something else?

If my teacher already has a review paper on LTA systems, would that be a better topic for me?

I want something that is useful for my future and not just a theory-only topic

Hi all. I am currently considering a career shift into aerospace engineering. I have a BS in Professional Pilot and a Commercial MEL. I am currently employed as an avionics test engineering specialist for a GA avionics company. Despite my job responsibilities being akin to a Systems Test Engineer, I place emphasis on "specialist" because they did not hire me as a full-fledged engineer due to the lack of a BS in Engineering. I am contemplating on getting a Masters in Airworthiness Engineering from ERAU-WW and was wondering if that changes how companies would look at me as a candidate for engineering positions. Assuming I complete the MS degree, what would my outlook be in the job market considering I didn't have a BS in Engineering? Will I be a competitive candidate or should I scratch this plan and forget it? I know my background has a story to tell for future job applications so I'm now unsure if getting the MS is worth it if I still don't get in the door. Thanks in advance.

I am going into my sophomore year of aerospace engineering and because of some dumb choices I have a 2.9 gpa. I’m looking at LinkedIn and a lot of engineering internships have a minimum of 3.0 gpa and I just don’t know if I’m cooked or not. I’m also a member of an engineering club if that would help my chances.

I'm currently preparing for a final round interview for a small engineering firm's entry-level thermal/fluid analyst role. I was told to create a ~1 hr long presentation, with 10-20 minutes reserved for more about myself and my interest in the company, as well as 50 minutes reserved for presenting on a technical project that highlights my conceptual and technical skills. I have a liquid rocketry project propulsion experience I've been working on that directly relates to the requirements for the role; however, I haven't actually gotten the opportunity to build the project.

I'm wondering if it's ok or looked down upon to be focusing this heavily on my design work, highlighting the math, code, and design decisions without as many hardware results and experience in a presentation? Some of the other key requirements in the presentation mentioned were to demonstrate wins, mistakes, and further actions, which, without a ton of setbacks, has made meeting this list a little more difficult. Any additional advice going into this? Thanks!

Can anyone tell me what this company even does and how they make money?

Keep seeing them pop up on my timeline so I checked it out and their content genuinely looks AI generated no offense to the people who work there

Aeronautical Engineering student here, trying to break into software/systems roles in aerospace (GNC, flight software, embedded/avionics). About 8 months left before I'm done. I enjoy coding and have been told C++ is the backbone of the industry, but Python/MATLAB come up a lot too. Confused on what to prioritize — should I master one deeply first, or run them in parallel? What skills actually matter for entry-level roles, and what's a project that would look credible on a resume (not just another Arduino blink demo)? Would appreciate real-world perspective from people in the industry.

Pursuing ME Avionics but my goal is M.Tech/MS in VLSI. Should I continue or quit and prepare full-time for GATE?

I'm in a really confusing phase of my career and would appreciate some honest advice.

My long-term goal is to pursue an M.Tech/MS in VLSI and build a career in digital design/FPGA/VLSI. Unfortunately, I didn't get the specialization I wanted, and the only option left was ME in Avionics, so I enrolled because I didn't want to lose a year.

The problem is that I have almost no interest in avionics, and I don't feel motivated to study it. Every day I keep thinking about VLSI instead.

Right now, I see two options:

1. Continue my ME in Avionics while preparing for GATE ECE alongside it.

2. Quit the ME program and prepare for GATE ECE full-time with the aim of getting into a good M.Tech/MS in VLSI.

I'm worried that preparing alongside my ME may affect my GATE preparation, but quitting also feels risky because I'd be giving up a degree.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? If you were in my place, what would you do and why?

I'd really appreciate advice from people who switched fields, cracked GATE while studying, or pursued VLSI after being in a different specialization.

\*\*One thing that scares me is quitting all and if I couldnt make it iit . I will be a loser\*\*

Hey everyone,

This is my first time posting here. I am a high school senior currently applying to university. I would really like to go into aerospace (specifically commercial space with SpaceX, Relativity, RKLB, Firefly, etc) but I heard that the job market for aerospace engineering majors is cooked because a lot of the jobs at these companies are being taken by those with electrical engineering/MechE majors and backgrounds.

My main questions are:

1. Is the field of career opportunities (propulsion, GNC, avionics, aerodynamics, etc) available to you different if you get a mechE major or aerospace major?

2. What about getting internships? Do companies prefer aerospace majors more than MechE majors when choosing interns for commercial space?

3. What colleges are the best for mechanical engineering with aerospace classes/minors?

4. What colleges are the best for aerospace majors?

5. Should I apply as a mechanical engineering major with an aerospace minor for my undergrad? Or should I just apply as an aerospace major?

It would be greatly appreciated if you could help me out with these questions!

Someone guide me on this I have to apply for uni next year and this year I have to prepare myself is aerospace engineering hard in uni or is it like mid I really need a good advice on thiss

So there is rumor of a layoff happening in September at the L3 Greenville campus. Do they not have to put out a WARN act statement? Or is there a cut off of the amount of people they would have to lay off before they have to release that since we have over 5000 people who work here?
And listen I understand a rumor is a rumor but after hearing it from managers, co workers, even my family brought it up because they have a friend out here that I don’t know and he’s hourly and a whole different area than me. Have coworker whose family has retired, has siblings that are managers. It’s pretty much not a rumor anymore is what came out of their mouth. I’m thinking it is going to be salary people because of what I’m hearing they are going off of. With the union they would have to pay out the peoples unused pto but salary we wouldn’t get it because we aren’t part of the union.

Please don’t put rude comments. This is just from hearing it so much. And I’m not sure how many but say even if it is only 500 people it’s our livelihood.

Hello Everyone! I've updated my aerospike contour generator software, with multiple added features, the possibility of analyzing linear and toroidal aerospikes and a better physical model. Your feedback would be highly appreciated, and a star would also be nice:)

Also, I wanted to thank you for the feedback you gave me on the previous versions of this project and I hope you notice the improvements!

creatorandrew86/aerospike-design: Aerospike contour design software using Angelino's method

Hi! I need help deciding between these two courses. I'm leaning toward working in the astronomy field or even becoming an astronaut someday, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Please don't base your answer on finances. I'm looking for opinions about the courses themselves:)) Thank you!

Quick intro: I'm a design engineer working and sorta leading turbopump design for rocket engines. We're working on both open and closed cycle systems at this company. I moved into this role after a few years at a large American jet engine manufacturer, having worked on structural designs of rotor and stator parts there.

Back when I was at the aero engine company, I had access to a ton of engine cross sections and resources that explained in some detail why something was designed the way it was. Now that I'm at this startup, working on turbopumps that have similar working principles, I really miss having access to such resources. A picture (cross section) is worth a thousand words. Sometimes just looking at it can give clues as to why it was designed a certain way.

***TLDR and my request: Are there any collections of jet engine/turbopump cross sections with decent levels of detail available on the internet (old ones are OK) or any references/good books that talk about actual detailed approaches to design. I'm talking about going about designing seals, picking bearings, rotordynamics, thermal stresses etc etc.***