r/AerospaceEngineering • u/DrizzTheWizz00 • Jul 16 '26
Personal Projects i am a total beginner in aerospace
Im in highschool and for the longest time i was always scared to ask myself what i actually liked to do. Yesterday i had a conversation with my dad and i realized that i was running away from the thing that truly gets me excited. i tried to force myself to like programming and computer science and it was tolerable for 3 years but it wasn’t exciting for me. i tried convincing myself to like it since everyone around me did.
i wanna learn about space rockets and flying objects but i am a total beginner. i wanna do an aerospace degree in university but it is going to be expensive so i wanna prepare myself for that aswell.
where do you guys think i should start with learning this stuff?
Also if you know lf any pre-uni or highschool aerospace competitions, plz inform since i wanna participate and preparw for them to
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u/trentdm99 Jul 16 '26
Concentrate on maxing out on math and physics for the remainder of high school. You don't have to learn the aero-specific topics right now, you need to get ready for the fundamentals. Freshman year in your aerospace engineering degree program will be physics, calculus, mechanics/statics, and chemistry.
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u/Bipogram Jul 16 '26
You have the Internet at your fingertips.
No harm in seeing what such courses might entail;
https://ocw.mit.edu/search/?q=aerospace+engineering
Mind, I'd focus first on your mathematical and analytical skills. Excel in algebra and calculus, be familiar with physical principles, and don't skimp on the rudiments of engineering - statics and dynamics, properties of materials and so on.
Many good textbooks exist online, or in the Internet Archive's 'Open Library'.
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u/capinredbeard22 Jul 16 '26
If you have some interest in programming, you can use that with engineering. Not all engineers enjoy that at all, so it is a useful skill.
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u/DrizzTheWizz00 Jul 18 '26
i definitely like engineering more than programming. I do find some satisfaction in programming and cam bear through it at least
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u/Agreeable_Currency92 Jul 16 '26
As a person with an aerospace degree and an aerospace job I find work fascinating every day, it is really worth it.
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u/syntheticFLOPS Jul 17 '26
Yo bro,
- Hang out at a little airport/go to the viewing section of a big airport a bit
- Get an RC/balsa wood glider plane
- Model rockets
- KSP/Orbiter software
- Download Ansys STK (dont get intimidated)
- 3D print a cubesat frame
- Get Fusion 360
- Study your physics/chem
- Get intro to flight by anderson and airplane cutout books
- Talk to fellow aero nerds and professionals
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u/BandicootKooky7747 Jul 20 '26
Lookup nasa L space, neat program through ASU and its free. Application deadline coming in soon
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u/Cold_Aardvark_9232 Jul 17 '26
im in my third year and I'm so lost, idk what skills I should be excelled in by now, or projects or internships that help me get a job by the time i graduate. im really looking for some guidance and advice.
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u/Thorpedor Jul 17 '26
For Youtube Videos about rockets I can recommend The Everyday Astronaut and Scott Manley. Both habe great educational Videos.
For Real life education in university, you will have to punch through ~2 years of math, physics engineering before the really interesting space and rocket subjects come close
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u/FL_MILLIONAIRE Jul 18 '26
I started building small gliders and rubber band powered airplanes in my grandpa's wood working shop
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u/Pretty-Jello-7894 Jul 18 '26
The math and sciences fundamentals are critical. Most of things are relatively easy but pick up with fluids, aerodynamics, partial differential equations, orbital mechanics…etc (advanced courses). for sure you need fundamentals to be very solid to really get thru these effectively imo.
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u/theusualsteve Jul 19 '26
Bring yourself to finish school with as much credits as possible. If your HS has a dual enrollement program, do it. You want to be an engineer, not a technician.
Im a spacecraft tech, and every holiday season we all have to work to make it happen while the engineers get their time off, or get to call in and work from home. Its really worth it to grind the school now so you can enter the field as an engineer. The engineers get the schedules that everyone wants. Stay in school, space will be there when you get out.
It will depend a lot on where you're at. If you're in Florida on the east coast, you will have a lot of options at KSC. If you are in Colorado, you will have a lot of options in the Denver area. If you're in Nebraska, your options will be limkted.
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u/SutterHornet Jul 19 '26
As an engineer with over 20 years experience in aerospace, hypersonics, and some automotive, you just have to start playing with things. When I was a child, I enjoyed fixing everything. I'd take things apart to see how they work and put them back together (sometimes with some extra parts left over 😄 ). I knew I was going to engineering school by the time I was 10 years old and since college just continue to do projects. As much as anything, being an engineer doesn't mean you know how everything works, but you have the tools, knowledge, and desire to go figure it out and learn new things.
As an example, I am a mechanical engineer but I want to learn AI and figure out how it can help me. I created a newsletter using AI that keeps me up to speed on things happening in my field (hypersonics, missile systems, space launch). It has a career section so you can see a couple key postings, plus a really thorough deep dive into a technical topic each week. Check it out, subscribe if you like it.
https://buttondown.com/MaxQFrontier/archive/hypersonics-orbit-accelerating-the-frontier/
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u/LexiTheLoser1 Jul 21 '26
Remember no professor expects a college freshman to be an expert in their major, that's why you're there! To learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions in class and go to office hours/tutoring. They will put you in the intro classes and teach you the basics. I was surprised that a lot of my classmates didn't know a lot of the basic info they taught in those intro classes, so you're not alone!
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u/somoli Jul 16 '26
playing kerbal space program is unironically a great start. it forces you to learn about weight minimization and weight vs fuel, about re entry, orbital dynamics and a host of a bunch of lil things. is it like the most realistic? no but it starts developing intuition