Aerospace Engineering Degree

Aerospace engineers research, analyze, design, synthesize, develop and test aircraft, spacecraft and weapons. Aerospace engineers who focus on aircraft are called aeronautical engineers; those who concentrate on spacecraft are called astronautical engineers.

They are essentially concerned with the aerodynamic properties of flight vehicles, such as airfoil, control surfaces, lift and drag.

An aerospace engineers can specialize in areas such as structural design, propulsion, navigation, guidance and control systems, communications or defense systems.

They may also specialize in a particular type of equipment, including commercial and military planes and jets, helicopters, space shuttles, satellites, space vehicles, missiles or or combat aerial vehicles.

Aerospace engineers can develop a special expertise in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, avionics or guidance and control systems.

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Acoustic Engineering Success Story

The Bose company is a prime example of a firm that relies heavily on the expertise of sound engineers. Founded by Amar G. Bose, an engineer himself, who studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the firm built its reputation on developing and marketing audio equipment and systems of impeccable quality. The company’s products are popular among consumers, automobile manufactures and performing arts venues. The equipment developed by their sound engineers strives to simulate the quality experienced at a live concert hall. Bose has chosen to engage in long-term, higher-risk projects requiring immense research and development instead of providing cheaper products to its customers. This approach has paid off with the creation of noise-canceling audio equipment such as headphones as well as ingenious suspension systems for the automobile industry.

As a teacher at MIT for nearly 50 years, Bose instructed a course on acoustics that transcended mere technical matters into larger life lessons. Bose stressed to his students the importance of personal responsibility and having high standards for work and integrity. Many students attributed to Dr. Bose their resolve to take on more risky endeavors as well as the technical and critical-thinking skills to achieve success in their careers. The life of Bose and the success of his company serves as a model for all practitioners in the field, underscoring the importance of developing a well-rounded education and approach to successfully tackling both technical and more abstract challenges that they may encounter both in their personal and professional arenas.

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Vehicle Engineering Career

Vehicle engineers dedicate themselves to the design, creation and functionality of vehicles and their components, including automobiles, trucks, buses, and motorcycles. Traditionally, they work in the entire product life cycle from the initial design through production, distribution and marketing, though often specialize in design, research and development or manufacturing. Take some time to request information from schools in our directory that can help you become a vehicle engineer. We recommend contacting multiple schools to be sure you start out on the right track!

Vehicle engineers are professionals who integrate engineering and business acumen to ensure vehicles are developed within cost requirements. Engineers in this field utilize a bevy of scientific principles including thermodynamic and mechanical inquiry to enhance operation and developing solutions for design flaws. Upon realizing a specialty, a vehicle engineer may be asked to execute a bevy of duties and responsibilities. Some undertake the design and creation of visual models for various vehicles and their accompanying parts and features with the assistance of digital applications, enabling them to determine the best source materials to employ.

A medley of companies compete for the expertise and skills of these scientific professionals. Producers of automobiles and commercial vehicles as well as component manufacturers employ these types of engineers to work on luxury, sport and utility vehicles and their supporting parts. In addition to the auto industry, design firms, industrial equipment manufacturers, energy firms, and competitive racing teams endeavor to secure the services of vehicle engineers. With these types of firms, these professionals dedicate their efforts to constructing prototypes and models of parts, the application of evaluation processes, computer software, and physical integrity measurements. Along these lines, professionals may endeavor in developing equipment and parts that meet evolving market conditions, customer tastes, and government safety and health requirements. In addition, they may refine design specifications, examine the environmental implications of a project, oversee the installation of new or enhanced assets into production facility, and/or investigate realized or potential failures in an engineering system. From a business executive perspective, vehicle engineers may negotiate with suppliers in managing contracts, delivery schedules, and logistics as well as track project budgets. Global companies such as General Motors, Tesla, Chevron, Johnson Controls, and Toyota serve as a sample of the firms in the market for these types of employees.

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Real-life Example of a Transport Engineer Career

Based on the experience of several young practitioners in the profession, the field of transport engineering offers a rich professional experience. Scott Sorensen, an engineer from the University of Nebraska, developed an after school education program to teach principles of engineering to high school students, whereby they designed buildings and created electrical applications for Christmas lights. Matthew Arnold, an engineer from Kansas State University, finds the hands-on nature of the field most engaging. He thrives performing outdoors, enabling him the experience the vitality absent from working in an office. Both Sorensen and Arnold enjoy the state-of-the-art technology they employ on a daily basis such as self-driving vehicles. New challenges encountered have made the field particularly rewarding for Tomas Lindheimer, an engineer from the University of Kansas. He enjoys the broad concepts and intellectual curiosity the industry demands. He believes he’s constantly learning new concepts that compel him to rethink his preconceived notions.

The direct impact the field has on people’s lives serves as the most attractive part of the profession for these young professionals. Instead of sitting in an office, detached from their fellow man, these engineers see the influence their work has on the daily lives of the people they serve. Many professors and industry executives encourage aspiring students and candidates to carefully consider the impact their work has on society as a whole. It is one of a few industries where practitioners see first-hand the results their technical backgrounds have on the ways people experience their daily lives.

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Thermal Engineering Career Outlook

 

Thermal Engineering

Professionals in the field of thermal engineering strive to develop more efficient means for transferring energy into more practical means, drawing on their expertise in heat transfer. Within an industrial context, these engineers work on solutions for fuels, exploring forms of chemical, electrical and mechanical energy. These professionals find specialization in the fields of high technology, solar power, oil and gas, power companies, as well as temperature control systems. Transforming power grids to create more affordable electricity has become one of the most popular fields utilizing the expertise of thermal engineers.

If you want to know more about becoming a thermal engineer, contact the schools listed here to learn more. It’s important to talk to as many schools as you can to determine the best way forward.

Thermal engineers dedicate their efforts to refining electronics systems and safety applications. They collaborate extensively with groups of hardware and software experts at all stages of the product cycle from initial design through the manufacturing and installation of products and systems. In this capacity, they may develop models for industrial assets rooted in computer projects for optimizing source materials and functionality.

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Real Life Example of a Structural Engineer

John Shmerykowsky , an experienced structural engineer, has witnessed first-hand the rewards of the career as well as the technological transformations that are reshaping the industry. As a principal of his own firm, he spearheaded the work completed at the Phillip Morris building in New York City at 120 Park Avenue. He works primarily as a consultant to architects, while he completed his education at Fountainbleu in Paris. Shmerykowsky has developed his reputation by completing projects that feature unique challenges. For example, the Phillip Morris project possessed a structure that was one quarter positioned over functioning subway tracks that were employed to transport garbage. His team had to develop an approach that would enable them to complete work on the building, while enabling the tracks to run without interruption. He also developed sustainable features in the building including windows conducive to harnessing natural light. Over time, he has seen how vital digital applications have become to the industry, whereby he encourages all aspiring professionals to become comfortable with the technology as well as current ones to reman vigilant in keeping current on computer-based trends. His firm Shmerykowsky Consulting Engineers currently seeks structural engineers to add to their team to help realize current projects for their portfolio of clients. Like the company’s founder, the firm seeks engineering professionals that possess a diverse range of technical, business, interpersonal and communication skills that are tantamount to executing current and future structures throughout the world.

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Software Engineering Degrees

Most people are familiar with older, more traditional engineering fields such as mechanical, civil, or electrical. Software Engineering is a relatively new discipline, but in today’s increasingly interconnected world, it is becoming more and more important.

Software Engineering differs from Computer Science or Web Design in that you are formulating how the overall software system functions, and how it works within its intended hardware environment.

Software Engineers are responsible for every phase of a development project, not just for writing the computer code. Upon the initiation of a project, they make sure requirements are documented and validated.

This assures the entire project is working toward the correct goal. They then move on to system design, often overseeing the creation of software prototypes to present to clients for additional validation.

Once the design is solid, Software Engineers manage the overall development effort to make sure the pieces are coming together as planned. Finally, they create and oversee test cases which assure system functionality is complete and traceable to the requirements generated at the time of project initiation.

Software Engineering is the discipline that makes sure computer systems are developed methodically and result in building the right product with quality built in from the beginning.

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