Utility of Engineering Degree

[WinterMute]

This is all a long way off for me personally, but how useful is an Engineering degree for flight training? Specifically, is an Aerospace engineering degree all that useful, or is it just general Math, Science, Weather, etc skills? I'm talking about classroom training here of course. It seems that all the really high ASTB scores are generally Engineers, but how good a predictor is the ASTB for flight school performance?

P.S
If this is in the completely wrong place, I apologize.

 

[HH-60H]

This is all a long way off for me personally, but how useful is an Engineering degree for flight training? Specifically, is an Aerospace engineering degree all that useful, or is it just general Math, Science, Weather, etc skills? I'm talking about classroom training here of course. It seems that all the really high ASTB scores are generally Engineers, but how good a predictor is the ASTB for flight school performance?

P.S
If this is in the completely wrong place, I apologize.

I learned a couple truths while I was in college. The first one is that people do good work (particularly over several years) when they are doing something they find interesting and enjoyable. If you haven't already, pick a major that is something you think you will find interesting and enjoy. It will make your life far more easier.

 

[BACONATOR]

This is all a long way off for me personally, but how useful is an Engineering degree for flight training? Specifically, is an Aerospace engineering degree all that useful, or is it just general Math, Science, Weather, etc skills? I'm talking about classroom training here of course. It seems that all the really high ASTB scores are generally Engineers, but how good a predictor is the ASTB for flight school performance?

P.S
If this is in the completely wrong place, I apologize.

Not very. It helped me kick ass on the ASTB and breeze through API and groundschool. But your question was: "Does it help with FLYING?"

NOOO. Flying is 90% art mixed in with 10% learning/knowledge. The knowledge will eventually come to the dumbest brick with enough studying and practice/memorization. If you can't FLY, you can't fly. There is no way to learn how to be a good stick. An engineering degree WILL NOT help with the FLYING part.

Make sense?

 

[WinterMute]

"(I'm talking about classroom training here of course)"

I guess my reference to "Flight training" was done in ignorance, and I should have been more specific. In any case, I am already an Aerospace engineer and loving it, I was just curious if it would make my life any easier.
API and groundschool are collectively how long again? (I know this info is around, but while we're talking...)

 

[BACONATOR]

"(I'm talking about classroom training here of course)"

I guess my reference to "Flight training" was done in ignorance, and I should have been more specific. In any case, I am already an Aerospace engineer and loving it, I was just curious if it would make my life any easier.
API and groundschool are collectively how long again? (I know this info is around, but while we're talking...)

Just remember, even for the dummies, Ground school is NOT hard to PASS. While it may be challenging to get 100s on all the tests, any idiot can make it through with enough skull-banging and studying. So I understand that your question was mainly about ground training, but understand this: Virtually all your tests will be multiple choice based on SIMPLE equations and a lot of rote memorization. There were plenty of non-tech majors who scored in the upper 90s and 100s just because they studied their asses off. Your 4 years of blood sweat and tears getting your engineering degree will help make it easier with less effort, but honestly, it's a small deal in the scheme of things.

With that said, the ground-portion of training is a VERY small part of flight school (in the grading arena, that is), so kicking ass and taking names in academics and sucking in the plane is going to get you a nice ticket to another designator.

If you're already an engineer, then congratulations. So am I. If you're asking out of curiosity, then like I said: Yes it will help in ground training (although you will have to grit your teeth and accept simplifications), but it has absolutely NO effect on your innate flying abilities.

 

[WinterMute]

Thanks for the info. It seems like they spend most of the time teaching you how to be a "Good Stick", which I assume is for the best. So, is there any way of predicting flying ability with any accuracy whatsoever before throwing them in the seat? All info points to a negative on that one, but I'll ask anyway.

 

[LazersGoPEWPEW]

Genetics.

 

[BACONATOR]

Thanks for the info. It seems like they spend most of the time teaching you how to be a "Good Stick", which I assume is for the best. So, is there any way of predicting flying ability with any accuracy whatsoever before throwing them in the seat? All info points to a negative on that one, but I'll ask anyway.

All you can do is push to the max on the things you CAN control. Study hard, chair fly, ask questions, practice practice practice. There are many engineers who attrite cuz they suck and MANY more poly sci, music and theology majors who rock the sh!t out of flying and get what they want. No predictor really. Some are born with the ability, some achieve it, and some just don't either way.

 

[D_Rob]

Fixed it for you (I don't know why this came into my head while reading this, but it did, eh)

Being a sex g-d is 90% art mixed in with 10% learning/knowledge. The knowledge will eventually come to the dumbest brick with enough studying and practice/memorization. If you can't bang, you can't bang. There is no way to learn how to be a good stick. An engineering degree WILL NOT help with the sex part.

Make sense?

 

[porw0004]

Thanks for the info. It seems like they spend most of the time teaching you how to be a "Good Stick", which I assume is for the best. So, is there any way of predicting flying ability with any accuracy whatsoever before throwing them in the seat? All info points to a negative on that one, but I'll ask anyway.

video games?

 

[Nomar116]

What everyone says is true, PolySci's can and DO succeed in flight school every week.

But I will say that if your background is Engineering because that's what interested you, then you are heading down a great path. If so you'll probably be more interested in some of the stuff here others find mundane. While you certainly don't need to be able to design the plane, concepts may stick easier and your understanding will deepen as you attach these concepts to those you picked up with your degree. The continuation of studying physical sciences from your engineering background will only help.

But honestly, flight school is a refreshing step back to focus on the bigger picture. In school as an engineer, you're introduced to a widget in a class. You don't even know what that widget is or does before you go about trying to mathematically define or parameterize the thing. Next thing you know, your a wiz with equations that you can't explain what the widget actually does to your parents in laymen's terms for the life of you.

In Flight School, especially ground school, you are presented with a widget again. This time you're told what it is and what it does. You will, naturally as an engineer, attempt to delve to deeply into the widget to understand WHY it does what it does. For this you will be scolded. Instead, you spend most of your time beating the WHAT into your head and glazing over many of the why and hows. There will be lots of times when things'll come easy, and lots when you'll trip over routine concepts that make sense to everyone else. You will get very frustrated at these times. But if you work hard enough it will all (most of it) make sense in the end.

And in the end, you will understand that widget just a little bit better than most. Because you didn't spend your ENTIRE four (or in my case five glorious) years learning JUST equations for control volumes, wave dynamics, finite element, and fourier analysis. No, you built an understanding of physical concepts and problem solving that this stuff relates right back to. (Of course you may have ALSO learned some of those concepts in the 8th and 9th grade...)

And did I forget to mention... then you get to go and strap in to your widget and fly the thing. Back in school, the best I hoped for was to model my widget using spreadsheets in Excel.

Of course, as others have mentioned, once you strap in all bets are off and you're on your own.

Plus engineering degrees look pretty good on a resume for say... NASA...

 

[a2b2c3]

It'll help you with basic concept of flying. You'll understand how turn radius and power affect formation flight more, you'll pick up the simple vectors you do point to points faster and the basic math will come easier. But it has no real influence. I was an aerospace engineer. The ground school stuff is all memorization. You'll have a better grasp of the engineering stuff because of you're background. Overall there's not much the degree does for you in terms of flying. It'll help a little but the plane is an art form more than a mathematical formula. And the navy trains procedures anyhow. If you can follow those you can fly the plane. No matter how well you understand the background concepts that make them work.

 

[Scoob]

Seriously, you're ability to manipulate the controls plays about as big of a part in being a pilot as you're ability to make it through API - there is, after all, a reason they are called "monkey skills".

Once you get through the basic hurdles meant to weed out the completely hopeless, then your degree will REALLY out you at an advantage. When you reach the stage when you can delve deeper into systems knowledge than just what is covered in NATOPS (that's a fleet NATOPS, not that self-help pamphlet you boys are using); learn how to really troubleshoot maintenance issues, and FCF with a purpose - that's when Uncle Sam really starts getting his money's worth out of the Engineering majors.

Until then, just jump through the hoops set before you in the program, and rest assured that you've only seen the tip of the tip of the iceburg.

 

[MasterBates]

Mechanical Engineering background helped fix more than one 60B I FCF'd without calling a Tech-Rep.

 

[Nomar116]

I figured the rabbit hole gets much deeper down the road... My little T-34's NATOPS manual looks as menacing as any thermo or mechanics book I had in school...