Aerospace Engineering jobs in/near Kentucky?

[Ryan Hornback]

As a senior getting ready to head to college for engineering, I am considering what I will do after college. I would like to get into a company that deals with aviation. I would love to work for a company such as Cessna, Beechcraft, Boeing, or the like. There is not anything like that around Kentucky that I know of though. I was wondering if anyone here on the forums knew of any place in, or around, Kentucky that I would be able to work with aircraft, or something dealing with aviation, as an engineer? I know UPS in Louisville may have some opportunities, but looking around some on the web did not reveal to much. I may end up having to leave the area, or get a job and enjoy aviation on the side. Either way, thanks for all the help! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and starts off 2013 well!

Thanks again,
Ryan Hornback

[VanDervort]

General Electric in cincinnati has a pretty good intern program

[steve]

Which engineering field interests you? The aerospace companies hire mechanical, manufacturing, electronic, software, and chemical engineers to name a few.

[Ryan Hornback]

I have applied for mechanical. I like what mechanical engineers do, and also I noticed how similar mechanical and aerospace are. Thanks for the replies! :)

[Dana]

Mechanical and aerospace are indeed very similar; in many cases it's a matter of emphasis.

When I graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, the only AE jobs were in California, and both that (I grew up in NY) and the huge company bureaucracy didn't appeal to me. I got my first job in NJ as a mechanical engineer designing aerospace ground support equipment. I moved on from there, eventually ending up designing automated production machinery... far more opportunities for that than in any aerospace field.

Some schools do offer a combined Aerospace/Mechanical degree with only a couple of additional courses. If I had it all to do over that's the path I likely would have considered.

[Mike Switzer]

I am a ME, it gives you a lot more options in the job market. At least, it does if you aren't tied to a farm & are willing to move. ;)

Your math skills have to be better than mine were to do well in the more advanced Aero classes (lots of diffy-Q), but you can probably major in Mechanical then take Aero engineering electives for a minor or double major. if you enjoy it.

I had concentrated all my classes in automotive engineering, then when I graduated all the big companies were laying off engineers, being a ME I was able to get a job in food processing / plant maintenance. Not what I really wanted to do with my life at the time but it paid the bills (and paid off the college loans in a couple years)

[Mike Switzer]

A couple suggestions: Make sure you can run both Autocad & Pro-E (assuming Pro-E is what everyone is still using 4 years from now)

I can run Autocad pretty well, but I can't run Pro-E. When it started being used a lot none of my employers would send me to training for it because I was a high enough level engineer that they all said "you have draftsmen to do that you don't need to know how", now probably 3/4 of the jobs I would otherwise be qualified for I cant get because I don't know Pro-E.

Take at least 1 HVAC/ refrigeration class & another in fluids/hydraulics/piping or whatever they are now calling the course that teaches you about pumping different viscosity fluids thru pipes. If you can do both of those things you can always get a plant maintenance engineering job, or a job with a consultant.

[Bill]

Make sure you can run both Autocad & Pro-E (assuming Pro-E is what everyone is still using 4 years from now)


Pro-E is already ancient history and has been replaced by PTC Creo. No need to wait 4 years for obsolescence to occur in the fast moving world of design software.:rollseyes:

[Mike Switzer]

Pro-E is already ancient history and has been replaced by PTC Creo. No need to wait 4 years for obsolescence to occur in the fast moving world of design software.:rollseyes:

Really? I haven't heard of that one, but I am somewhat out of the loop. Most of the big companies around here (CAT, AGCO, Deere) are still using Pro-E, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. When it comes to engineering consulting firms, Autocad is still the most common, although I'm not sure how Autodesk stays in business as I know of some firms still running Acad 2000. (I believe everything is now backwards compatible to that point) I haven't upgraded since a client's engineering department bought me a copy of 2004. (and that is what they are still using 8 years later)

[steve]

Catia and Siemens NX are the two most widely used CAD packages in aerospace. Pro-E is a distant third. SoildWorks and SoildEdge round out the top 5. AutoCad is seldom used except for plant layout work. I think the automotive industry uses Pro-E.
As far as CAM applications, NX and Mastercam are the frontrunners. Become proficient with the big names.
I'm a Manufacturing Engineer / CNC Programmer for a jet engine parts manufacturer. We just hired a newly minted U of FL mechanical engineer. We probably won't utilize her calculus and FEA knowledge but she also studied manufacturing and took machine shop classes so micrometers and machine tools are at least known objects. She interned here last year. Advise you also intern in your chosen field.
Good luck.

[Mike Switzer]

We just hired a newly minted U of FL mechanical engineer. We probably won't utilize her calculus and FEA knowledge but she also studied manufacturing and took machine shop classes so micrometers and machine tools are at least known objects. She interned here last year. Advise you also intern in your chosen field.
Good luck.

It helps if the applicant knows the difference between a Phillips screwdriver & a crescent wrench, even better if thy know the difference between a milling machine & a lathe, better yet if they know how to run either. :)

[Mike Switzer]

My first job out of college I was working with an industrial/process maintenance department. Helped that I knew how to use a wrench. The guys I worked with taught me how to weld. (how to really weld, not the controlled environment stuff they teach in high school) They probably wouldn't have taught me anything if I didn't have an understanding of what we were doing.

[Ryan Hornback]

Thanks for the all advice. I definitely plan to intern or co-op while in college. One of the colleges I am looking at actually has 3 individual co-op sections built into their engineering course, where you apply, then go work for a company that you would like, as long as your are accepted, during that time. As for knowing the difference between tools, I have grown up with a Dad who can fix anything, so I have a really good understanding of the basics. I have always been one to like working with my hands, so from a young age I have been building whatever idea I could imagine. I have created things from go karts to tree houses to catapults. I even have had some experience with welding. ;)

[Mike Switzer]

Sounds good Ryan - if you know how to turn a wrench just concentrate on the math, that is what will set you back if you have a problem

[Dana]

Almost nobody uses AutoCad any more. I don't really know why anybody ever did, except that it wasn't copy protected and everybody had a pirate copy of it... there were and are far better programs. Solidworks and Solid Edge were the standard until recently, with more affluent outfits using Pro/E (and incidentally creating a distinct career path of "Pro/E Operator" due to its complexity), but the direct modelers like Keycreator and Creo/Direct are gaining ground. Different programs are popular in different industries. Catia and Unigraphics are used more by the big companies. Different programs are good at different things; Catia's good for surfacing, direct modelers are great for early design and "one off" designs, Solidworks and Solid Edge are good for iterative designs with dimensional changes anticipated but no major design changes, which are a PITA with that kind of modeler.

Still, if you know one 3D CAD program, it's a simple matter to learn another.

[Bill]

with more affluent outfits using Pro/E (and incidentally creating a distinct career path of "Pro/E Operator" due to its complexity), but the direct modelers like Keycreator and Creo/Direct are gaining ground

Creo is the modern day Pro/E. In 2002, PTC renamed Pro/E to "Pro/E Wildfire" and released versions 1.0 through 5.0, which is the version that I learned to use. Then in 2010, PTC decided to change the name to "Creo Direct/Pro R5.0" (or Creo/Elements/Pro R5.0 for 2D CAD), and followed that this year by releasing "Creo Direct Parametric." PTC just loves to rename the same old stuff so they can charge more for it. They did the same thing after buying Mathcad. After Mathcad 15.0, the next release at far greater price was Mathcad Prime 2.0 (notice the similarity). I stopped buying PTC software at that point because of the cost and the explosion of products that was too confusing for little minds like mine.

[Mike Switzer]

From what I have seen, most of the small architecture/engineering firms that I know of are still using autocad, as well as many plant maintenance & process engineering departments. Most design engineering departments are using the higher priced software packages.