Help! Ds wants to design/engineer spacecraft

[HullyEastergully]

How what where when can he go and do?

What about residential courses etc??

I know of Smallpeice but none other.

All help most gratefully received.

[TeWisBeenNargledByTheMistletoe]

Virgin galactic are based in California, DH keeps checking their job lists!

Oh which DH is not remotely like Howard, if he was he wouldn't be my DH! He'd love to move into this field, just getting experience and looking for the right opportunity.

[TeWisBeenNargledByTheMistletoe]

Er, possibly I mean New Mexico. Guilty of not listening. Just having a look at their website and one of their directors did mech eng at Imperial.

[TalkinPeace2]

Virgin Galactic may work in the US, but a LOT of their engineers are products of the UK Universities.

The other opportunity for engineers is Formula 1 : all the teams work in and around Slough.
DS dream job is to be chief engineer of the REd Bull Formula 1 - or even Formula E - team, when that comes on line.

[TeWisBeenNargledByTheMistletoe]

Yes of course. British engineers seem very well respected. An awful lot choose to go overseas after qualifying for exciting projects though.

I just quite fancy moving somewhere sunny.

Lots of sub-contracting too, so you could work (or get experience) in the UK with someone that makes a small part of the finished product for an international company.

[TalkinPeace2]

I've told DS he's going to Stanford, whether he wants to or not !

[JenaiMathis]

I researched automative engineering courses for ds nearly two years ago. He is 12

[TalkinPeace2]

so is my DS
have we just found a whole new category of pushy parent?

[GrimmaTheNome]

Supportive, talking, supportive

[HullyEastergully]

well it's bloody hard. I'm an artsy fartsy type, I don't know anything about any of it and ds needs to know somehow and obvs won't do it himself

[HullyEastergully]

what about stanford?

[TalkinPeace2]

engineering.stanford.edu/
cos then I can go visit him

[HullyEastergully]

Ok.

I don't understand the Stanford process. That is the first hurdle.

[bruffin]

DS longs to go to MIT

[HullyEastergully]

is it another very scary thing I won't understand..?

[HullyEastergully]

Ok

Which is the best one in the whole world? (He'll want to go there)

[RatherBeOnThePiste]

Hully - our daughter is keen on aeronautical engineering at the moment, but she's only at the point of choosing A Levels. There is though a course at Cambridge she was aspiring to. My husband was talking about somewhere that might do summer holiday work experience. Neither of them are here at the mo. but I shall ask

[bruffin]

Top 50 engineering and technology universities

[RatherBeOnThePiste]

Ah. The Cambridge course does a year at MIT.

[TalkinPeace2]

We'll meet up at the Open days!

At the moment Imperial and MIT are probably the top 2
Soton and Stanford in the next tier I think - have not researched too much as there is no way he's going to Soton no matter how good the course is.
(no point him going to Uni 5 miles from home with DH on campus regularly!)

[JenaiMathis]

I fancy Texas or France.

Just correcting the typo in bruffin's link Top 50

[bruffin]

thanks jenai

DS has already found out about the link between Cambridge and Mit courses however his sponsor from Arkwright has told him he might be able to get him a bursery at Imperial, if he applied there.

[TeWisBeenNargledByTheMistletoe]

I enquired over dinner, will be back later because I can't type it all up on this stupid phone...

[Amerryscot]

I would recommend a top engineering discipline (ie chemical, mechanical, civil or electrical/electronic engineering). Of those, mechanical, electronic and chemical engineering seem to be most appropriate. The aerospace bits can then be done at post graduate level.

Which universities? Any Russell Group for undergraduate.

I would like the top brains designing rockets. I'm sure NASA, et al, feel the same.

[TeWisBeenNargledByTheMistletoe]

Right, according to DH who, as I said up there would like to move into this field but currently works with aircraft, it depends a bit on exactly what he would like to do.

If he wants to be cutting edge forefront of spacecraft design, he thinks pure maths degree and applied maths pHd. Or Physics.

If he's interested in the computer programming side, possibly some kind of computer studies but that's a bit riskier because he would need to go straight from degree into working in aerospace, or he might end up becoming a generic IT guy.

Otherwise aeronautical or mechanical engineering degree with year in industry, or equivalent apprenticeship. If he looks at mechanical the course needs to include two specific units, one is "Computational Fluid Dynamics" and something that covers"Jet Propulsion, Rocket Propulsion, Ballistics".

For now he could look for a STEM club in his local area/school. Model rocket amateur clubs in his local area. If they're local you've probably been to these places already, but the space center in Leicester and science museum in London are great in general and have special events if you keep an eye on their websites. This is true for trying to get on any degree course but if you can show you're taking your interest in a subject further in your own time that's always going to help your application.

Needs maths and physics at A-level definitely, Chemistry also potential a good option (I'm sure you've thought to look up the potential university courses and check what qualifications they require).

Hope that helps.

[NewFerry]

If your DS can access further maths at AS or A level, it would definitely help with the modules on his degree. Also, universities seem to like students who can offer FM. Bristol actually reduce their standard offer for candidates offering maths, FM and physics at A2.

If he does choose to go own the mech eng route then do check the modules carefully.