help! astro/aero engineering and physics

[Hullygully]

I am an airy fairy arts person with ds wanting to do physics and then aero/astro engineering.

Any advice on the best universities for this? England/abroad? Obviously we are looking ourselves, but all advice/thoughts very welcome.

Surrey has an excellent reputation for engineering zamantha and with a year work experience built into the course graduates are very employable too. I mentioned oxbridge/imperial up the thread because they have the reputation that may be needed if making the switch from physics undergrad to engineering masters. It's quite probably possible from other places too, but it's not an easy jump to make, so if thats the path you want it's best to give yourself all the advantages you can.

Good luck to young Hully

Zamantha

Ds is looking at Leeds,Durham,Nottingham,Southampton and Imperial.He wants to do mechanical engineering.

Isn't Brunel meant to be good for this?

My DD has moved away from engineering and wants to do physics. Her top choice prob Imperial. At the mo that is.

The course at Southampton looks really good.

Ds v keen on Imperial as wants London, but put off by the comment on the student room that there are NO women...how your dd will be besieged, Pistey!

Hullygully, if your DS has any questions on the southampton aerospace course, please pm me and I will get DS to answer them. (Once he comes down to earth as he's spending this this week flying round southampton doing experiments, as part of the course)

My DH went to University of Hertfordshire and says that the aerospace industry is full of graduates from there (I KNOW it doesn't sound very impressive but it is apparently very good). Also Southampton and Loughborough.

Oooh and apparently, for the Astro side of things, Hertfordshire has it's own observatory as well.

Thanks, newferry!

Does he love it?

Totally!

Aero Engineering is the most Maths heavy of the Engineering degrees, check this out for best Universities, I've sorted it by entry score (ie marks needed)

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?o=Entry&s=Aeronautical+%26+Manufacturing+Engineering

Worth checking with a few re conversion from Physics but I'd think it may be quite difficult.

I did aero eng at Glasgow many years ago. It was well thought of at the time, not sure now.

My BIL works as an aero engineer, he studied mech eng at Sheffield.

very interesting, lazyjaney, thanks for that!

I did maths and am just finishing a more vocational masters degree. The problem with doing a conversion masters is he won't see as much of the engineering and there is no scheme to pay for it. So it has to be paid for up front and with loans from banks if savings won't cover it.

As for universities, have a look at Loughborough.

Oh and I went to Imperial. There are girls, although not as many as men. There's also a very strong "geek" culture which I haven't seen at my masters university.

Doing engineering would leave the same "general" graduate jobs open as physics would, if he changed his mind.

Would it? I keep hearing it wouldn't.

Yes, I wonder about Imperial, I wonder if it might be better to go somewhere where it isn't ALL science re the geek thing

Where are yo doing your masters mrshoarder?

Engineering is one of the few degrees where it is still possible to get funding from employers. Has he looked into an apprenticeship from Airbus? They take people with A levels and put them through the degree part time. No fees to pay and a wage. Not easy to get an apprenticeship tho. Look on the EADS website.

Picking up one of the points you've mentioned...

I graduated from Bath 10 years ago. Not an engineer but the engineering faculty was huge, am sure it still is. As your DS has found about Imperial, very few women on the engineering course, but my male engineer friends never had any problems on that score - other faculties evened the gender balance out. So whilst not suggesting your DS selects his university on gender ratios, if he is concerned by ratios on specific courses do highlight the presence of students studying other things.

None of said friends are actually working as engineers now, which is sad in many ways, but all doing very well for themselves. My theory was always that the project nature of a lot of their uni work provided great material for grad scheme interview questions.

thanks, dragon, I'll get him to look at that.

www.airbus.com/work/early-careers/apprenticeships/apprenticeships-in-the-uk/opportunities/undergraduate-apprenticeship/

That's the one I was thinking of. Closed for this year, but they will soon be recruiting for 2014. You get a degree at the end of it.

My DD is doing some work experience at Astrium next week, hopefully it will be interesting, have told her not to touch anything as even the screwdrivers cost ££££££££+++++

Wow, she's lucky, Pistey.

That she is, glad we asked them, she can't wait, tis going to be a big old journey though, we are SW London and they are Stevenage.