Tell me everything you know about aerospace engineering

[NCTDN]

DS looking now but it's such an area I have no knowledge in so what do we need to know? Is work experience essential?
Are university rankings accurate for this? Current top three are imperial, Bristol and Bath according to the complete uni guide.
Or is an apprenticeship the way to go?

Depends on his predicted grades, most looked for A star A A.

When DS was looking, we discovered that some unis allow flexibility across Mech, Aero and Auto as much of the course content is shared in Y1 and Y2. Which is useful if you're unsure what to specialise in.

He also looked at the unis' wind tunnels!

Other places to consider:
Loughborough
Leeds
Southampton

Loughborough is a good call for engineering. They have both BEng and MEng degree courses where you can do a placement year with industry in the middle. They earn a wage and there are no tuition fees during the placement year with industry. This guarantees work experience in your engineering field prior to graduation. Most students come out with a job offer for when they graduate if they do a placement year.

My son has applied for this course. Fave uni course is Southampton A*AA (apparently amazing wind tunnel!)

Also looking Sheffield & Nottingham

I think the generally accepted pecking order is 1. Imperial 2. Bristol 3Southampton Further Maths A Level is a help. Grade requrements are high.

Do be aware the courses are quite small, so competitive . If you google jobs for aeronautical engineers you don't get many coming back compared with mechanical or electrical engineering, so I was quite glad when my son ended up not doing aero.

Ask hard questions about the support provided for obtaining a placement year. It can be very competitive and some unis doing little beyond signposting towards vacancies. Many of DS's contemporaries didn't find anything suitable and gave it a miss.

Foundation years can be an option if top A level grades are a stretch, or offers are missed. From memory Loughborough and Sheffield offer this option.

If your DC has great grades and wouldn't be averse to studying in the US, it might be worth investigating those US engineering schools that offer need blind admission and financial aid to international applicants.

What year is your son in? If y10 or y11, the Smallpeice Trust have a couple of taster courses at Kingston uni. The year 11 one is residential and year 10 is a day camp.

My son did the year 10 one and very much enjoyed messing about with paper aeroplanes and wind tunnels.

He doesn't qualify for the smallpeice trust courses

If he can get a degree apprenticeship I’d strongly encourage that route. It’s incredibly competitive though.

Also consider the proximity of the uni to and their links with industry. Bristol for example has Airbus and BAE systems as wells as major engineering firms.

My DS is a third year aero student at Imperial. He is particularly keen on the space aspect and Imperial was the uni that he felt was the best fit for that. My knowledge is therefore quite space specific so use as you see fit!

One thing that my son got involved in while at school was the UK Space Design Competition. Even for students who aren’t specifically interested in space I think the competitions provide lots of opportunities for students to work as part of a large team on different aspects of design and business. My son got involved through his school - there may be opportunities to get involved directly.

In terms of work experience, Ds spent a week at Inmarsat at their London offices. He wasn’t involved in anything particularly interesting but it opened up some networking opportunities for him. He has managed to secure Spinternships during his uni summer breaks based at Harwell near Oxford. These have given him a lot of insight into the industry.

The course is challenging but DS is thoroughly enjoying it.

@NCTDN Bristol has a long history of supporting the aerospace industry. Grads from there are highly employable. It’s easier to get the undergrad degree here and qualify as an engineer here. Then you can work anywhere in the world as the CEng qualification is recognised pretty much everywhere. Unless you have a massive desire to study abroad of course.
Bae Systems is a world wide employer for example.

MEng always is the best to aim for. BEng will require a masters if grad wants to be a chartered engineer. Most apprenticeships are not MEng degrees, they are BEng. Check which university and degree with an apprenticeship so you are comparing like with like. Employers still employ MEng grads.

Work experience in the aerospace industry isn’t essential to get a job because it can be hard to get. Few unis have enough placement companies and very many students won’t get a placement. They are signposted but dc are not spoon fed into placements. They are inevitably competitive. I would suggest trying to get work experience in the holidays is worthwhile. If dc don’t get a placement, what then? BEng or MEng?

I think Imperial doesn’t suit everyone. It might be top but grads from the other unis are also highly employable. DC needs 5 unis and should look at ones that are slightly less competitive for an insurance place. The top unis are competitive and DS should have FM for these to stand the best chance.

My DS studied aeronautical and spacecraft design engineering at Southampton, ie, quite literally rocket science.
He works in the industry and recruits grads. Aerospace tends to be quite cutting edge technology so the work is very interesting. There is also a big overlap with F1 race cars, as aerodynamics is critical to race success.
In his experience the more competitive universities produce better quality grads, and despite so many engineering degrees being professionally accredited, there is a significant difference in the knowledge and ability to apply concepts.
This is particularly noticeable for first roles, so it is worth getting on the best course you can.

SIL works in this field. She did BEng in Engineering, Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. Then worked for Lockheed Martin while doing a part-time Post Grad Certificate in Nanotechnology at Oxford.

@CaveMum Most engineers now need a MSc or MEng to become a Chartered Engineer. I second getting on the best course at the best university but that doesn’t have to be Imperial.

@NCTDN DS is doing a degree apprenticeship with Airbus if you want to know more.
He got A*AAA at a level.
Needed something like BBC for the apprenticeship.
Received all uni offers and kept Nottingham and Sheffield until results day.
Applied to imperial but decided against London so didn't bother doing the maths test.
Work experience consisted of 1 day at a local steam museum.
He talked about his own RC constructions, days out at flying displays, Duxford, watching gliders etc on his UCAS form along with lots of team work stuff.
They just need to show a real passion and interest. Some subjects it's almost impossible to get direct experience.

Where is he based with his apprenticeship ?

@NCTDN Broughton.

Ooh that's interesting. Is he living way from home ?

@NCTDN yes, he found a room in a house share through a student letting agency. He's a long way from home, so this was quite a hurdle logistically and mentally - no easy student halls option! It worked out fine though.

How much involves actual space stuff?

Instead of just aeroplanes

@Ilikefood1234 he confirms no space stuff.
Whether or not that is problematic in the future is unknown - my guess is it won't be, but our strategy is that if a paid-for masters is needed in the future, he'll still be in a better position financially.
The degree vs degree apprenticeship decision was made without considering finances though - I wanted him to choose the route that interested him most without worrying about money.