Aerospace engineering?

Hi im 15 years old.
What i want to know from a real aerospace engineer. Is what do you do? Also do you get hands on work on alot of things and are you and your team the masterbrain for the project?

This might be something that i want to do for my career.

Hi,

It's good to see young people interested in the subject. I know that my company has real issues getting people like you interested in the subject.

I'm a recent graduate (I graduated in 2006) and have worked for a leading aerospace and defence company since. I've been lucky that I have gone through a training scheme with the comapny that allows me to do four different jobs in my first two years with the company. I've worked in design offices, on rigs (Because everything is tested before it takes to the air) and in an engineering management role. I've worked on large military aircraft, fast-jets and recently, I've been working on UAV's.

The guys above me seem pretty hot on space, so I'll keep to the stratosphere. I'm working in safety at the moment, which doesn't sound exciting (and it's not putting wet floor signs up) but it's really interesting. I have to do a lot of paperwork, which is documentation to say the aircraft is safe, part of that is zonal hazard analysis which involves getting round the aircraft and having a good look round. It's a great experience as you have to know a lot of detail about the whole product.

I wouldn't say there's a 'masterbrain' anywhere as everyone has their own expertise and everyone pulls on each other to get a job done. I was asked to build a rig a couple of months ago and found myself talking with aerodynamicists, structural engineers, stress engineers, manufacturing engineers and some guys on the shop floor actually building the thing.

Again, as above, ping us an email if you want to know any more. matt.weeks85@yahoo.com

I am an aerospace engineer, and I design/analyze flight and control systems for satellites. My work involves a lot of simulation and detail analysis for various vehicle subsystems, as well as autonomous failsafing and mission procedures.
I wouldn't say my current role is hands-on in terms of structural testing, but my design team is responsible for ensuring the satellite works the way it should and survives in its space environment .

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any more questions about the industry.

Former AE here... I used to work for the government office that writes regulations for spaceflight.

Like the guy above me, I did a lot of simulation work. Generally, they'll train you on the use of one or more computer programs, and then make you use those programs to create reports and help the higher-ups make decisions. For example, I had to calculate how far off-course a rocket could possibly go if the guidance system broke, so the managers could decide what kind of area needed protection.

AE is a large field, and you can specialize within it. Control systems (the mathematics of making things move the way you want automatically), thermal analysis, fluid analysis (which covers most forms of engines)... those are just a few examples.

In general, it's not a hands-on field. That's more along the lines of mechanical engineering or robotics. However, AE's can get into a lot of the really cool top-secret satellite and missile projects, because you'll be trained in the basics of aerodynamics, engines, and orbital mechanics.

As with the guy above, feel free to email me with any more questions.

Cheers!