Degree

[Killer2]

Want to know what to get a degree in go to monster or careerbuilder and find out what jobs are posted most often, then select a job field that interest you and *ta-da* you just selected a major.

I am Political Sci, but I would do HR/Business if I could "press restart." Much more "marketable" if for some unforeseen reason I might actually need to find another job field. <shudders in fear>

 

[Clux4]

Having a background in engineering will not help you with that - at all. If anything, I've seen it work against guys who tend to "nuke" something simple and try to turn it into something complex. Not knocking engineers, just keeping it real.

Brett

Yeap,
Had pilots come in and complain about the jet. While describing the problem to the PC, they tell him what they think it is. (Tank 2 will not fill up, I think it might be the fuel shut-off valve). It takes a college degree to break a jet, it takes a high-school diploma to fix one.

 

[E5B]

Yeap,
Had pilots come in and complain about the jet. While describing the problem to the PC, they tell him what they think it is. (Tank 2 will not fill up, I think it might be the fuel shut-off valve). It takes a college degree to break a jet, it takes a high-school diploma to fix one.

Was that on your bird or Tango1's bird? I know you're both plane capts in the us marine corp.



Seriously though, enroll yourself in a degree that you'll have fun with. If you start to feel guilty take a physics or Calc class then continue having fun.


ENJOY THE COLLEGE YEARS (unless you're at the USNA)

 

[Killer2]

ENJOY THE COLLEGE YEARS (unless you're at the USNA)

I think that was the greatest choice I ever made. No regrets there. *DISCLAIMER* Notice I said I made, so if your there or want to go there, enjoy.

 

[KBayDog]

Calling E5

At least minor in something cool that you'll enjoy. For instance I majored in Industrial Technology (somewhat tough) but I minored in slaughtering. Yes that's right Slaughtering. The classes were a little more in depth than I expected, doing research on Hoof and Mouth and Mad Cow disease etc. But the lab was nothing but killin. The facilities were outstanding, very clean. The community (ranchers, 4-H) would bring in livestock, leave us a list of what cuts they want and we'd do all the work for a minimal price to the university. We killed cattle (of course), goats, sheep and hogs. There's actually a lot more that goes into it than I thought. The good part is, the rancher I worked for gave me a steer to fatten up every year and I'd take it to school and kill it myself, age it for 2 weeks, then cut it up myself, vacuum pack it and take it home. It'd last me and the wife 6-10 months.



I bet PETA would love to take a tour of that place...


Good times.

Time to put your degree to use:

'Dead meat': Roaming bison face slaughter

PIKESVILLE, Maryland (AP) -- A herd of buffalo that got loose and wandered around a well-to-do neighborhood won't be causing any more trouble: Their annoyed owner plans to pack them off to the slaughterhouse.

The 10 or so beasts disrupted traffic and alarmed homeowners Tuesday before officers managed to corral them onto a tennis court. More than a dozen police cars and a police helicopter were used to herd the animals.

"The way I feel right now, I'm giving them all away," owner Gerald "Buzz" Berg told The (Baltimore) Sun. "They're going to the slaughterhouse."

Officers using outdoor lounge chairs as shields formed a human chain to corral the beasts, but one buffalo was seen leaping over a net on the tennis court to evade capture.

Berg, who owns a Baltimore demolition business, has raised bison on his 40-acre farm for about 10 years, mostly for meat.

Police spokesman Shawn Vinson said Wednesday that no charges were being pursued against Berg, who said he did not know how the animals escaped. A week earlier three bison got out through an unlocked gate but stayed close to the farm, Berg said.

 

[E5B]

Nice. Buffalo is good eaten, had it many times in chili, bergers...etc. 'They' killed one at my school for a rancher, but I missed it. Something I always wanted to slaughter is ostrich and emus, I hate those things..woulda been awesome putting them down!

 

[Malice 1]

Yeap,
It takes a college degree to break a jet, it takes a high-school diploma to fix one.

Amen to that. The ONLY reason I rotted away in college for 3.5 years was to become a pilot in the Marines. I always thought that if one of my eyes falls out, I would beome an AMDO and fix planes. Now I realize that officers are not allowed to touch wrenches. Anymore I think I would just poke out my other eye and go on disability.

Back to the point...
I graduated with a 3.2gpa, BS Professional Aviation. I hold a CFII, and I have 234hrs TT. I know how to read a metar, and I know which way to move the yoke to make a plane go up. Other than that, my vast array of aeronautical knowledge is prolly totally useless once I get to primary. I am trying very hard to forget everything I know about flying, so I won't go to primary with a pocket full of bad habits.

I chose this degree because I have a short attention span. If I had chosen History, or poli-sci, there is absolutely no way I would have ever graduated. I had to study something interesting to me.

 

[maybe]

My advice is to mix it up, I majored in chemistry and now that I am done I wish I had not taken so many math and sci calsses, dont get me wrong I love chemistry. Its just that I dont feel like I am a very well rounded person, I wish I had taken more foregin language courses or music classes or sociology. So pick something because you like it and also dabble in other areas

 

[perotti17]

I was actually dumb enough to graduate in Aero Engineering. The classes are hard as hell and I felt like a moron most of the time. Thank God for beer. You're right when you say that engineers over-analyze simple situations. Most engineers are tools that don't know how things work in the rel world. When you finally do graduate, you're stuck in a cubicle staring at computer. Again, this is where beer comes in handy. By the way, telling hotties that you're a "rocket scientist" does not get you any action. Just my $0.02.

 

[2c_stars_at_noo]

I'm a Geology Major (obviously) at a small liberal arts college and I would not trade all of my gen ed's for anything. I have more gen ed credits than I do in my major. Having to take art, music, english, philosophy, history, buisiness, physics, and about 12 hours of Bible and Theology is like being force fed world perspective and lots of extra stress. Its really amazing how everything fits together.

In my own opinion the broader the background of your education and experience the better you are equiped to face the real world. Perhaps not to imediately get the results you hope for, but you will have more to fall back on should your dreams get squished. Can't really vouch for what the Navy wants, seeing as I'm still just a Poser, but I think that it is wise to think beyond getting a SNA slot imediately after graduation.

Take advantage of school while its there, once you grow up its forever.

Of course it could just be that I am a huge nerd who really likes pointless classes...

 

[Goober]

Something I always wanted to slaughter is...

Left by itself or as the lead-in for any conversation, this line could could possibly be one of the funniest things ever said. Imagine over a cold beer w/ your bubbas:

"Man, did you see that game yesterday? Miami got slaughtered!"

"Yeah, you know, while we're on the subject, something I've always wanted to slaughter is..."

Ok, maybe it was just me. I'm gonna go drink now. :icon_drin

 

[klostman]

Left by itself or as the lead-in for any conversation, this line could could possibly be one of the funniest things ever said. Imagine over a cold beer w/ your bubbas:

"Man, did you see that game yesterday? Miami got slaughtered!"

"Yeah, you know, while we're on the subject, something I've always wanted to slaughter is..."

Ok, maybe it was just me. I'm gonna go drink now. :icon_drin

I'll have to agree, that was pretty damn funny!

 

[KBayDog]

2. Liberal arts...classes often evolve into long-running discussions during which you will be able to express, defend, and develop your own opinion.
3. Employers (civvy side) seem to like engineering majors.

So I can conclude that civilian employers like engineering majors because they are unable to express, defend, and develop their own opinions?

(Hmmm...No wonder the Navy wants engineers so badly! )


(For that matter, no wonder the Marine Corps wants liberal arts majors - we need folks who are able to quickly develop the propaganda that has kept us alive for 230 years!)

 

[Rusty]

I'm double-majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Spanish, so I get to dive into both worlds. Here are a few things I've noticed:

1. Engineering school is largely BS. It's hard as hell, your enginerd professors can't communicate to save their lives, and you'll end up spending countless hours teaching yourself something that the teacher could have effectively explained in 15 minutes.
2. Liberal arts degrees are warm, fuzzy, and entertaining. You'll never have to ask for help to get your work done, and your grade will reflect your knowledge and effort. Classes often evolve into long-running discussions during which you will be able to express, defend, and develop your own opinion.
3. Employers (civvy side) seem to like engineering majors. Because a technical degree is essentially four years of academic ball-hazing, I have found them willing to give somebody the benefit of the doubt when hiring for a non-techanical jobs. For instance, the CIA and FBI actively accept engineering majors for jobs such as Operations Officer and Special Agent, respectively. A Communications major may find these positions much more difficult to get (or not, depending on the case). The military also openly prefers engineering degrees over liberal arts degrees for some positions (like Pilot).
4. On the other hand, there are versatile Liberal Arts degrees. International Relations or International Business can be very marketable, especially if teamed with a foreign language or another second major.
5. Second majors are a ***** to get for engineers, since they're already committed to about a billion credit hours. When you tell your engineering advisor you want a double major, he/she will probably act confused (silly enginerds).
6. Engineers get lower grades, both due to the difficulty of the courses and the asinine way many engineering instructors grade. Working hard will not always get you a good grade. This gets real old, real quick.
7. For the same reasons listed in 6, engineers don't have as much free time.

Okay, I'm done ranting. I'm biased, as I didn't realize how much I hated engineering until it was too late. Plus, I would have lost scholarships by changing majors. So.....

Kids, don't do drugs and don't study engineering.

HAHAHA! Great post Barnard! I did an engineering degree (and got a second degree in architectural design) and I could not have put it better myself. Thanks for the laugh...

 

[Chris Hill]

Here's something from someone who JUST (as of a few hours ago) finished their aerospace engineering degree:

1. It's not that hard as long as you stick with it. Engineering just takes more work/time (took me 5 years - ROTC allows for this, Academy will help/make you get out in 4).

2. Although grades are harder to get the first couple years, once you get to junior and senior level classes, everyone gets A's and B's (at least at my school).

3. As already said, engineering gives you many more opportunities outside of the military than any lib arts degree.

4. Since you're at the Academy, you're "liberal arts skills" will be developed just as well as any liberal arts degree (writing, social skills, etc.).

Here's the bottom line, though. You're going MC, and they don't care about what degree you have. So do whatever you are interested in and enjoy it. I enjoyed my degree, but wished it was shorter. I'm really glad I stuck with it, however.

If you have any other specific questions about an aerospace degree shoot me an email.